The City Diaries
by Mrs. Edward Cullen 2090
Summary: Alice runs into an old acquaintance at a wedding. Sparks fly and Bella and Edward fall desperately in love with eachother. There's just one hitch: Edward's got a girlfriend. All human. ExB, EmxR, AxJ. a little OOC.
1. The Wedding

Chapter 1- The Wedding

I was crying! I was crying, at a wedding! God, how tacky…

Although, I _had_ been waiting for this day for a very long time. All the months of planning and shopping were finally playing off. As I stood up there, I felt overwhelmingly proud that arguably one of the most important days of my life was finally here. I wiped the tears from my eyes as my best friend, Rosalie Hale, hissed from behind me, "Bella, dear god, stop crying."

"You may now kiss the bride," the minister announced happily. Screams erupted as my friend Jessica was kissed passionately by her new husband, Mike. Cheering filled the hall.

Alice Brandon-my other best friend-was the first to claim the happy couple. Then, we all rushed over and started gently embracing them. As Jess' maid of honor, I had done virtually EVERYTHING for her. Helped pick out a dress, go food tasting, help pick out lingerie for her honeymoon…

I shuddered, that had not been my favorite thing to do.

Jessica had tears streaming down her face by now, and her cheeks were beet red. She looked so happy and blissful. I felt a tiny stab of pain; why couldn't that be me? I was 24 with no hope of getting married anytime soon. All I'd dated was losers over the past few years. The last real relationship I had, Jacob Black, had gone on for 2 years. I really thought that he was the one…until I walked in on him having sex with Leah Clearwater.

"Bells? BELLA!" Alice was waving her hand in front of me, breaking my trance.

"Come on, let's go sit down for dinner," Rose suggested. She must have known that this would be hard for me. I had only broken up with Jacob 2 weeks ago.

I followed them to table number 2. There were 6 place settings written in elegant script: _Isabella Swan, Rosalie Hale, Alice Brandon_, and then 3 other names I didn't recognize: _Emmett McCarty, Jasper Whitlock and Edward Masen._

"Ooooh!" Alice squealed when she saw Emmett's place setting, "I know him!"

"Really?" Rose asked skeptically, "how? Who is he?"

"Oh, he used to go to high school with me!" Alice trilled excitedly.

"What does he look like?" Rose asked inquisitively.

I hadn't known Alice back in High School. I'd known Rose for nearly my entire life. We'd always been best friends. Our mothers had known each other for years before we were even born. I'd met Alice freshman year of college. We'd been friends ever since. Now, all 3 of us shared an apartment in Seattle.

"Oh, he's absolutely HUGE! At least that's how he was last time I saw him, I sort of lost touch with everyone after high school," she admitted, "but he's got big muscles, dark, curly hair. And he's REALLY hot!"

"Little Alice Brandon, is that you?" somebody asked from behind us. We all whipped our heads around to see 3 incredibly beautiful men standing there, smirking at us.

"Wow, it's been AGES! You haven't grown a bit have you?" the tallest one asked playfully. From Alice's description, this had to be Emmett. She bounded forward and hugged him. It was extremely hilarious to see a 6'5 guy try to hug a 4'10 girl. Rose and I stifled a giggle.

She shot us a look."Oh, guys, this is Rosalie Hale," she gestured appropriately, "and Isabella Swan," she pointed to me.

Emmett raised his hand and waved, first at Rose (giving her a big, fat smile) and then at me.

"Nice to meet you both, _very_ nice," he looked over at Rose and gave her a small wink. She giggled back and blushed. "And this is Jasper Whitlock and Edward Masen," he said, gesturing to the boys beside him.

Jasper was tall and leonine, with honey-blonde hair. He was muscular too, not nearly as big as Emmett, but very strong. The second one, Edward, sort of took my breath away.

He looked like a male model-well, all of them did-and he was the most handsome person I'd ever seen. His bronze hair was arranged into casual disarray, and his emerald eyes pierced right through me. The pale color of his skin was extremely striking against his dark black tuxedo. He walked forward to grasp my hand.

"Very nice to meet you all," he said with a smile on his face. His voice was so irresistible! Like velvet. We stared at each other a moment longer than necessary, then Emmett cleared his throat.

"Well," Jasper said, "looks like we'll be sitting with you tonight," he seemed very formal. Of course, he was looking at Alice the whole time. Emmett was in a deep conversation with Rosalie. So, I was just left staring at Edward. His gaze momentarily screwed my thoughts up, and I was left ogling at him like an idiot.

_Whoa. Just, whoa. _I thought to myself.

Stop right there Bella.

"Shall we?" I hadn't realized that Edward was holding out a chair for me, and everybody else was already sitting down. I flushed pink and took my seat next to Alice and Edward.

Ben Cheney had just made his way onstage to give the Best-man toast.

"I remember," he hiccupped; looked like he was already drunk. I gazed at Angela across the hall. She was hiding her face in her hands of embarrassment. "I remember when Jessica and Mike met. Mike had a crush on Jess, Jess on him; it seemed like a match made in heaven. Until Isabella Swan came along," he pointed to me and froze. Everybody looked at me with curious eyes.

"Yup, you can't hide Bells," Ben hiccupped, "she comes along, all from Arizona and whatever, and Mike is like, completely smitten with her!" That's when I noticed that Jessica was glaring at him with a deadly look. His eyes widened in alarm.

"Yeah, here's to the happy couple, blah-blah-blah, have fun," and with that he raised his glass and staggered off the stage.

I looked around my table at the awe-struck faces of 4 people. Rose was the only one who was sitting there casually, checking out her nails; this wasn't new to her.

"Yeah, he had a tiny thing for me in high school, but I don't like him so…" I trailed off. Rosalie scoffed. She knew that Mike's "thing" for me had been anything but tiny. He'd sent me Roses every day the week leading up to Prom. And it was quite obvious by the way he looked at me sometimes that he was mentally undressing me. I shuddered, remembering the day when Mike had "accidentally" grabbed my ass.

I didn't even notice that Edward was up on stage. "Thank-you very much Ben for that 'toast', now, I'd like to say a few words, short and simple. To the newly-wed couple, may you have a long and happy life together. I only hope, that the rest of us can find love like you two," Edward said cheerfully. Was it my imagination, or did his eyes flash to me when he said that?

_No, that's just what you want to think…_

"Cheers," he announced and everybody applauded after he sauntered off stage. I even saw a few girls follow him all the way back to the table. For some reason, this annoyed me immensely.


	2. Tanya

Chapter 2-Tanya

"NO! Not another dance!" I giggle-screamed. Emmett and Rosalie were dancing together on the floor. Alice and Jasper were off talking at the table, and Edward was trying to persuade me to come back onto the dance floor.

"Isabella Swan," he laughed, the hiccupped "dancing is fun, loosen up a little bit!"

"Fine," I hiccupped.

The music had changed to a slower-paced beat; a slow song.

"UGH!" I groaned. Several people turned in my direction.

"What's the matter?" Edward asked innocently.

"I don't want to slow dance, I have nobody to slow-dance with!" I told him. I was serious, but I couldn't wipe the grin off of my face.

"You can slow dance with me?" Edward suggested. He raised his eyebrows. Did he notice how my breath quickened?

"Sure, yeah, I guess," I tried not to sound too excited about it.

He dragged me onto the floor and pulled my body closer to him. My arms draped themselves around his neck, he placed his hands on my waist and we started moving side to side. I recognized the song: Fall for you by Secondhand Serenade. I didn't know why I was already so completely smitten with Edward. It was getting close to 2am. We had been talking all night, joking and laughing with each other. He just seemed…different. I couldn't put my finger on it though. He was so interesting, and funny, and smart, and handsome and…god, did he just lower his hands?

_The best thing bout tonight's that we're not fighting _

_Could it be that we have been this way before?_

_I know you don't think that I am trying_

_I know you're wearing thin down to the core_

_But hold your breath_

_Because tonight will be the night_

_That I will fall for you over again_

_Don't make me change my mind_

_Or I won't live to see another day_

_I swear it's true_

_Because a girl like you is impossible to find_

_You're impossible to find_

This moment was so perfect, so right; there was no way to doubt it. His arms wrapped around me, holding me against him...It felt like every nerve ending in my body was a live wire. He gazed into my eyes and we stood there for a few moments then, abruptly, he dropped his hands and looked at his watch.

"Wow, it's late, I should be getting home," he said. My heart fell.

"Well, hey, call me sometime," I told him.

"Definitely, maybe next time you can meet Tanya," he said. I looked at him with a troubled expression.

"Tanya?" I asked, my voice incredulous, "who's Tanya?" I tried to smile pleasantly through gritted teeth.

He was dialing a number on his cell phone, "My girlfriend."

_Girlfriend._ He was just being nice_. How could I have been so stupid? _

"Bella, are you okay?" Edward asked, worried. He put his hand to my forehead. Checking for a temperature probably…"you look awfully pale, is everything alright?"

"No," I croaked, "You have a girlfriend," I said quietly.

"Oh, yeah, I sort of do…" he admitted. He looked…ashamed? Upset? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"I'm sorry if I gave any other sort of…impression," he said slowly. God, does he think I'm STUPID?!

"Why didn't you say anything? It would have made things different?"

"Bells, I'm very, very sorry that I gave you the wrong impression. I like you a lot, your very sweet and charming and-"

I cut him off, not wanting to hear something like _but Tanya's better than you._

"Yeah, whatever, no problem, because I've got to go home and have sex with MY boyfriend! Have fun with Tanya! Nice meeting you!" I shouted at him. And with that, I stormed out of the hall, not even bothering to look back.

I climbed in my car and started driving back home, fighting tears the whole way there.

…

When I parked outside of my apartment building, I turned on the heater and just stared out the window, tears clouding my vision.

My phone started to ring. '_Cuz your hot then your cold, your yes then you're no…_Katy Perry's _Hot N Cold_ came blaring out of my mobile phone. I glanced down at the screen and my breath caught.

_Edward Masen _

A.N: Hope you enjoyed these first few chapters. I didn't want Edward to have a girlfriend, but…I kinda had to make him have one =] don't ask me why…its part of the storyline. Leave a comment, but be nice…this is my first fanfic.


	3. The Phone Call

Chapter 3-Phone call

"Hello Edward Masen," I tried seductively, "I'm sorry, but I can't talk right now, my boyfriend is about to make love to me, so if you could just piss off, it'd be very much apprec-"

"Isabella Swan, who's pants are you in now?" Rosalie's disapproving voice came shouting down the line.

"Oh, Rose, it's you."

"Yeah, damn right it's me, what the hell happened back there? I saw you dancing with Edward and then you shouted at him and just…left!"

'Rose, he has a…girlfriend," the words sounded small, like I was admitting a weakness.

"Oh, Bells I'm so sorry, I had no idea…, Hey! Edward don't you walk away from me, get your ass back here right now and apologize to Bella!"

Oh crap.

"Hold on, Bella, here he is."

"Bella, I'm sorry I gave you the wrong impression back there, I have to tell you something though-" his words sounded like he was mocking me.

I cut him off, "Listen _Eddie_, I can't talk right now, there's a sexy man in my apartment, and if you don't mind I'm going to go take my clothes off with him and have sex. Hey, why don't you do the same with Tanya?" I asked sarcastically, "goodbye!"

I slammed the phone down on the seat and laid my head back on the seat, looking at the top of the car.

_God, I'm so drunk right now._

Grudgingly, I opened the car door and clambered out of it, falling into the slowly gathering snow.

_God, I'm REALLY drunk._

I made my way up the stairs of my building, being careful not to slip on the ice.

…

Edward POV

God, I felt horrible. Rotten, I didn't want to be dating Tanya! I wanted to be free from her. I wanted Bella; sweet, warm, loving Bella. Tanya was a stuck-up, cold hearted bitch. The only reason I was dating her is because her father owns the company where I work…sure it was for selfish reasons, but it was hard to find a job in this economy. If Tanya's father found out that I'd dumped her, I'd surely lose my job.

I grabbed my coat and walked over to Jasper in the corner where he was snuggled with Alice to ask for the car keys when I heard a shrill voice yelling at me from across the hall.

"Oh, Bells I'm so sorry, I had no idea…, Hey! Edward don't you walk away from me, get your ass back here right now and apologize to Bella!" Rosalie was screaming at me like we were the only people in the room.

Emmett had his hands on her shoulders, "Rose, try not to punch the guy alright?" he asked her. Oh, he was restraining her.

She held the phone with such force that you could see the tendons standing out against her skin.

"Hold on Bella, here he is," she said scathingly. I could tell that she was a very protective, if not possessive, friend.

I took a deep breath. I would tell her the truth, "Bella, I'm sorry I gave you the wrong impression back there, I have to tell you something though…" I began, but I was cut off.

"Listen _Eddie_," Eddie, why the hell did she call me Eddie? She sounded really drunk, it made me worried about her. "I can't talk right now, there's a sexy man in my apartment, and if you don't mind I'm going to go take my clothes off with him and have sex. Hey, why don't you do the same with Tanya?" What? She wasn't alone? I was about to ask if I could come over to her apartment and talk to her when she shouted, "goodbye!" down the phone.

I'd obviously hurt her.

"Dickhead," Rosalie spit at me. "Why would you do that to Bella? You stupid, selfish, conniving little bas-"

"Rose, calm down alright, if you knew the truth…" Emmett began.

"No, I don't want to know the truth. You hurt her Edward Masen! Bella doesn't deserve to be led on like that if you're just going to break her heart later on!" and with that, Rosalie turned on her heel and dragged Alice-who was sitting in the corner, still talking to Jasper-out the door.

"Tough break man," Emmett told me. He rested his hand on my shoulder but I shook it off. I didn't need to be comforted. I needed to apologize to Bella. I didn't know why I felt so strongly about this girl that I had only met her a few hours ago. But, we'd talked the entire night, and she truly fascinated me! She was unlike any girl I'd ever met; I needed to talk to her, to comfort her.

_No, I need Bella. Period._


	4. Hangover

Chapter 4-Hangover

"Ugh!" I groaned. I flipped onto my back and stared at the ceiling.

_God, what a hangover._

As I sat up and ran my hand through my hair, the events of last night came flooding back to me. The embarrassment I had been through. God, I hated Edward Masen.

_No you don't, you love Edward Masen._

SHUT UP! I didn't love him. I wasn't _that_ desperate.

"Rise and shine sleepy head,"

"Go to hell," I moaned. I didn't want to face anyone right now.

Alice looked offended as she came bounding through the door with a tray of food in front of her.

"Is this for me?" it was so sweet of her to make me breakfast, then I noticed my alarm clock, "holy shit! Alice, its 10:58 in the morning! I'm going to be late for work!"

She smiled and shook her head, "No Bella, I already called ; I told him that you wouldn't be coming in today,"

"What did you tell him?"

"That you had a MASSIVE hangover," she beamed at me. Even though I wanted to ring her skinny, little neck…

"You, you WHAT!" I screeched.

"Oh Relax Bella, he said it was fine, 'happens to him all the time,'" she quoted.

I laughed and then became silent again, "Ugh, I just want to go back to sleep!"

"Well you can't, I need to go shopping today and Rose is working so," she smiled, "it's just you and me Bells!"

"Al, I don't want to go to shopping"

"Oh come on Bella, don't be such a baby, then maybe afterwards we can go to the gym or something!" she trilled excitedly.

"I'm serious, I don't want to go!" I sounded like a whiny child arguing with their mother about going to school.

"Grow up Bella. Listen, eat, get dressed, I expect you to be presentable, come on now!" she saw that I was looking at her skeptically, not moving an inch, "HURRY UP!" and with that, she slammed the door and walked away.

_Maybe shopping would take my mind off of last night, who knows? _

And with that, I started eating. I had found my inspiration. The food was delicious, probably because Alice watches Food Network all the time…

After I'd finished, I grabbed my fluffy, cotton towel and headed for the bathroom.


	5. Shop til you drop

Chapter 5-Shop til you drop

"Come on Alice are you almost ready!?" I shouted.

"Al-MOST! I CANT DECIDE BETWEEN MY MANOLO'S AND MY JIMMY CHOOS!!!"

"NO ONE FREAKIN CARES AL, JUST PICK SOMETHING" I was getting annoyed now; I had been standing outside her door for 25 minutes now, waiting for her to come out so we could finally go shopping.

I was actually looking forward to shopping. Usually I would be on my hands and knees begging not to go. I had put on my grey sweater dress and black pantyhose. My hair was pulled up into a low chignon, and I was wearing my new patent leather boots. I had to admit, I looked pretty good.

Finally, Alice appeared out of her bedroom. She was wearing a gold shimmery dress and her turquoise Manolos after all. Bright red lipstick finished off her look. Usually, this ensemble would look strange, but Alice could pull off anything.

"Ready?" she asked brightly.

"No, really?" I asked sarcastically.

"Okay, let's get in the car and go alright?" She suggested.

…

"Ooooooh, Bella you HAVE to try this one on" Alice squealed from outside my dressing room.

"Nu-uh, whatever you're throwing at me is a little…" I hesitated, biting my lip.

"A little what?"

"Sluttish!"I giggled. I was still examining myself in the one-shoulder black BCBG dress. The only thing I actually LIKED that Alice had chosen for me.

"I like this one to be honest," I told her as I exited the dressing room.

"Hmmm, it's perfect on you!"

"Really?" I asked skeptically, "you think it will make him jealous?"

That's when I saw Alice. She was wearing a chiffon over silk, white dress that hugged all of her curves nicely; she had finished off the look with sliver kitten heels. She looked like an angel.

"Bells, you look HOT!"

"You really think so?"

"Most definitely, Bella. If we should bump into the guys at a nightclub or something, then we can show Eddie what he's missing," she smirked at me and winked.

"Thanks you Alice, I know that I shouldn't be this distraught over a guy I've known for a day but, I REALLY, REALLY like him," I blushed, "thanks for putting up with me."

"It's alright, I know how much you like him Bella," she said, the paused "he's hot!" As if that was the only reason I liked him.

We laughed together and exited the store.

…

"Hello, I'm Jeffrey and I'll be your waiter this afternoon, what can I get for you **fine** young ladies?" he asked, looking us up and down.

"Um, nothing thanks just some vodka please." Alice smiled dazzlingly at him, and the waiter left stuttering on the way back.

"Hey, Al, why aren't we eating?" I demanded.

"I sort of have a date in a couple hours…"Alice admitted dropping her head.

When she said no more, I prompted her. "With…?"

Alice sighed, "Jasper Whitlock."

"Why would you not tell us about it Al?" I asked her.

"Well, because we were focusing on YOU Bella, making sure that YOU kick ass on Friday."

"Wait, what's Friday?" I was getting suspicious now.

She blushed, "Well, I'm going to see him tonight," Her face was getting redder by the second.

"You didn't answer my question Al, what's Friday?"

Just in time to save her, the waiter arrived with our drinks. Smiling a little more warmly than necessary.

"Jazz and I talked ALL evening, he's so smart and when I got cold he took off his jacket and put it around my shoulders! It was soo sweet…" she smiled; obviously changing the subject, "and Rose and Em make a cute couple. It was so funny when he tried to restrain Rosalie when she wanted to punch Ed's lights out…" she saw my expression at Edward's name and started spewing apologies.

"It's alright," I said, giving a timid smile, "it's not like we were _dating_."

I took a swig of vodka and started thinking about last night.

"_My girlfriend, "he said. _I could almost see my mortified expression when he spoke those words.

After an afternoon of laughing, and drinking, and complaining about Edward, and drinking some more, we left the restaurant and headed out towards our car.

"I really don't know what Edward sees in _Tanya_," Alice said her name with a vengeance. It made me laugh, "Jazz showed me a picture and she's not even pretty!"

"Well, maybe he likes ugly girls…" I mumbled. _Ugly, stupid, sluttish girls probably…_

It was silent and then we started laughing. Several curious eyes watched us as we made our way into Alice's Yellow Porsche 911 turbo.


	6. Chance Encounter

Chapter 6-Chance encounter

Bella POV

After we were done shopping, Alice suggested that we go to Lifetime for a workout. She said it would take my mind off of Edward. I highly doubted that, as he was always on my mind now for some reason.

I walked into the apartment, my arms filled with shopping bags from about a million different stores.

"Alright Bella, just put them over there," she pointed to a spot in the corner of the living room. I walked over and dropped them. God, I can feel my arms again.

'Right, now, let's go get dressed for the gym," when she saw me standing there she yelled, "QUICKLY!"

I ran into my room and started digging through my dresser for my yoga pants and Nike workout top. Finally, I found them. I threw the clothes on and put on my gym shoes, pulled my hair into a high ponytail and bounded out my bedroom door. I found Alice sitting there patiently, watching ABC news.

"My god, what were you _doing_ in there Bella? I've been out here for AGES! Let's go," she led me out of the apartment, locking it on her way out.

…

When we entered the gym, I felt a strange sense of release. It had been a long time since my last workout and I was really looking forward to it. As soon as we stepped foot on the workout floor, Alice turned to me.

"Okay Bella, there's a yoga class I really want to catch that starts in 5 minutes," she saw my change in expression; I hated yoga, "I know how much you loathe it, so are you going to be okay by yourself, or do I need to babysit you?" she asked with a smirk.

I raised my chin in the air. "I'll be fine Alice, go enjoy yoga," I grumbled. Again I sounded like the 6 year old child.

She laughed, quickly kissed me on the cheek and ran off towards the other side of the gym.

I made my way over to the treadmill. I had always loved running for some reason. I'd been on the cross-country team for all of junior and high school, so I had a pretty high endurance level. I plugged my iPod into my ears and turned on Paramore's _That's what you get._ I set the incline and speed: 5.6 mph and started running.

It was 20 minutes into my run when I noticed that someone had gotten on the treadmill next to me. I was too preoccupied to notice him. Usually, I checked out any guy at the gym, but I had other things on my mind. It was getting too easy for me, so I pumped up the workout and started running even faster.

At 40 minutes I started to get a little tired, my breath was coming faster now and my sides were hurting. I glanced at the monitor. Damn, I'd run over 5 miles.

Something happened then, my knees collapsed and the machine shut itself off. Two arms were around me in an instant, pulling me up and sitting me on a nearby bench.

'Bella, Bella!" he said. The voice sounded familiar for some reason, harsh but soft like velvet…

Oh crap, oh shit, it can't be…

I looked up to see Edward Masen looking at me with that same worried expression he had at the wedding.

"Bella!" he breathed, relieved, "are you alright? Your knees buckled back there-"

I cut him off, "Yeah, I'm fine," I said rather harshly. I didn't want to talk to him anymore, seeing him only brought back embarrassing memories. I stood up a little too quickly and fell forward into his arms.

_Damn it!_ My ankle was killing me; I must have twisted it when I fell.

All of a sudden, I was very aware that Edward was holding me in his arms with a painful expression on his face. I pushed him away and sat back down.

"Maybe I should sit for a while," I mumbled.

He quietly laughed, "Maybe that'd be a good idea."

"So," I began, "where's your girlfriend?" I asked scathingly.

His eyes flooded in awareness, "Bella, I need to explain some things about me and Tanya-"

"Like what?"

"Isabella," he pronounced my full name, "to be honest…I feel like a complete jackass." He looked down at his feet, then up at me, unleashing the full power of his eyes. I lost my train of thought completely.

"You should, what you did to me yesterday, that wasn't fair…I thought," I trailed off; tears clouding my eyes as I remembered him speaking to me like a child.

"Bella, I never meant to hurt you," he looked up from impossibly long lashes and continued, "To be honest with you, I like you…a lot"

I sat there with my mouth agape staring at him.

_Did he just say he-_

"Bella! Look who I ran into in yoga class," she gestured to the man next to her, who I immediately recognized as Jasper. I became doubtful of her intentions on coming here. Then it hit me.

"Alice," I hissed, "can I talk to you for a minute…alone."

She nodded, obviously figuring out that I knew her ulterior motives.

As soon as we were out of earshot, I smacked her arm and said, "You set this up! You knew they were going to be here didn't you? You'd get Jasper while I was stuck with Edward, trying desperately not to start crying!"

"Bella, I'm sorry! Jazz called me up and said that he and Edward were going to the gym, and then he suggested me bringing you along so that you could talk to Edward face-to-face. I thought that you'd be happy that you could tell him off!" she told me.

"Al, I never wanted to see him again and now he just told me…," I hesitated, "that he _likes_ me Alice!" I couldn't help but break into a wide grin as I said this, and Alice mirrored my expression.

She started clapping her hands together and squealing like a 5 year old that had gotten pony for her birthday. "Omygoshwhendidhesaythat?" she slurred together. I had a hard time understanding her.

"Just now, but now I'm balancing between going out with him and spitting in his face!" I said, laughing.

"Why the hell would you do that?! Bells, that boy is fine, grab him while you can."

"But I don't want to look like a home wrecking whore, I mean, I don't know Tanya, but I don't like hurting people Al," she saw I wasn't bluffing and then became serious.

"Bells, look, you have to _swear _not to tell anyone this, but when I was on the phone with Jazz…he told me tha-"

She was interrupted when Jasper came up behind her and snaked his arms around her waist.

"Hey gorgeous," he whispered to her.

She blushed and muttered a greeting. Jasper laughed.

"Hey, do you girls want to go grab some coffee with us?"

"Um sure, Bella?" Alice asked hopefully, I could see in her eyes how much she wanted to be alone with him.

"Actually, I think I'm going to head home. I'm tired and need to get a good night's sleep, you 3 have fun," I gave them a half-hearted smile as Alice mouthed thank-you back at me.

The lovebirds waved good-bye as I walked away from them. I saw Edward sitting on the bench, looking at his hands. I wondered what he was thinking.

Edward POV

"Emmett! Do you realize how hard I worked for this job? The hard work I've put into it? I'm not going to give that all up," I yelled at him.

Emmett had been on my ass all morning, telling me how Tanya wasn't worth it. I didn't need to hear it. I very fully knew that Tanya wasn't worth it; she wasn't worth a second look at. But, I needed this job.

"Hey man, all I'm saying is that Rose told me Bella was pretty banged up about last night. Said she came home and Bella was crying in her sleep…" he said.

Bella was crying? She didn't deserve that. My insides twisted. I yearned to go and comfort her, but I knew that she would probably start screaming at me like she had last night. I'd spent all last night dreaming about Bella. It was like she was the center of my world all of a sudden.

Emmett saw my blank expression and laughed, "Well, you should be fine as long as you picture Bella's face when you're having sex with Tanya," he joked. I hit his arm and stormed out of the apartment after Jasper; we were going to the gym.

…

Jazz seemed pretty excited about the gym, more excited than he ever had been. He was not one for working out. He naturally had muscles; oh, how I envied him.

When we entered the gym, Jasper seemed very on edge. He kept looking around, scanning it every few seconds like he was waiting for someone. Then his eyes stopped on 2 girls, one with short, spiky hair and another with long, mahogany hair tied up in a ponytail.

It took me a minute before I realized the reason he had brought me here.

"Jasper," I began calmly, "could you tell me why we are coincidentally at the same gym as Bella and Alice?"

He merely looked at me and smiled, "Got to run, go try talking to Bella," he suggested, then took off towards the other side of the gym where Alice was waiting.

"Great," I muttered to myself.

I was feeling nervous as I walked up to Bella. When I was about 2 feet away, I caved and sped off towards the weight lifting section.

_I will go talk to her, just give me 20 minutes_ I told myself over and over again.

Truth be told, I was absolutely scared tiff to try talking to Bella. After what happened last night, I didn't know how she'd react when she saw me.

20 minutes later, I had mustered up enough confidence to nonchalantly start running on the treadmill next to her, hoping that she'd notice me first. I started out nice and easy, 4 mph and an incline of 0. I didn't want to strain myself.

When I started running, I was distracted by her. Bella's long hair was pulled up into a high ponytail. She was wearing a tight fitting, pink shirt and slim-fitting black yoga pants. It accentuated what a beautiful body she had. I looked her up and down then turned away before I could get too "happy" and distracted myself by raising the bar.

Bella didn't look at me once; she must have been concentrating on something very hard.

About 20 minutes after I started running, I noticed that her breathing was becoming irregular and she started slowing down, even though she was going 6 mph.

To my utter horror, she collapsed onto the floor and laid there. I got off of the treadmill at immediately and picked her up with my arms.

I rushed her over and sat her upright on a bench.

"Bella, Bella!" my voice became urgent as she sit there, unresponsive.

Then she stiffened and opened her eyes.

Relief washed through me, "Bella, are you alright? Your knees buckled back there-"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied shortly. I guessed that she was pretty pissed at me. She stood up too quickly and fell forward into my arms. I wanted to hold her there forever, to hold her in my arms and never let her go. In a span of 24 hours, she had become everything to me. She was all I thought about. My heart leapt whenever she spoke to me, even if she was pissed. I looked down at her, torn…

_Should I? _I asked myself, _Should I give up everything for her?_

Then, all too soon, she pushed away and slumped back down on the bench.

"Maybe I should sit for a while," she muttered, looking at the floor rather than me.

I laughed, trying to lighten the mood, "Maybe that'd be a good idea."

"So," she glared at me, "where's your girlfriend?"

I immediately made my decision right then and there, "Bella, I need to explain some things about me and Tanya-"

"Like what?" she asked me, her eyes full of something; hatred probably. My heart sank into my chest.

"Isabella, to be honest…I feel like a complete jackass." I looked down at the floor, avoiding her penetrating gaze, and then looked up at her. She had a slightly dazed expression on her face.

"You should, what you did to me yesterday, that wasn't fair…I thought," she trailed off, tears started collecting around her eyes.

I had made her cry.

I'd caused her that much pain.

I decided to be truthful with her, "Bella, I never meant to hurt you," I looked up at her beautiful face, "To be honest with you, I like you…a lot."

I was about to go on when Alice and Jasper came over, interrupting our conversation. He had his arm around her waist, and she was beaming, happily resting her head on his shoulder. I flared up with jealousy that it couldn't be like that with Bella.

"Bella! Look who I ran into in yoga class," Alice gestured to Jasper and he smiled coyly at us.

Something seemed to click in Bella's head, her eyes widened.

"Alice," she hissed, "can I talk to you for a minute…alone."

Alice looked alarmed and they headed off in the opposite direction to us.

Jasper came over and sat next to me on the bench.

He placed his hand on my shoulder, "I'm sorry Edward, things with Bella must not be going well," he guessed.

I nodded.

"I'm really sorry, but don't worry, she'll come around," he gave me a reassuring smile. I tried to half-heartedly smile back, but I couldn't find enough strength to.

Jasper got up and walked over to where Bella and Alice were standing.

He snaked his arms around her waist, and I had seen enough.

I looked down and started playing with my hands.

It was clear that I had 2 options here:

Option 1: Stay with Tanya, try and forget about Bella and find a way to find Tanya…attractive. It was for the good of my career. The more I thought about that option, the more I liked option 2.

Option 2: Break-up with Tanya, lose my job, but get Bella. That seemed like a fair-enough trade to me.

I looked up as I heard someone approaching.


	7. Let's Talk

**A.N: This is a long chapter, so be warned. But, it's completely vital to the story so…read on =]**

_I have decided to do the story from Bella's point of view, occasionally switching when it's important. But, unless otherwise stated, POV is Bella._

Chapter 7 - Let's talk

Bella POV

I cautiously made my way over to where Edward sat. With each step I took, I kept changing my mind.

_Go on._

_Leave him behind._

_Remember what he did to you._

_You want him Bella, go for it._

I decided to listen to my worse half and slowly walked towards him. He was pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger.

When I got near, he must have heard me because his lips twitched and he said, "Juts don't hit me alright?"

I stood there, a few feet away from him, not knowing what to do next. On the one hand, I could yell at him for several minutes, and then ask him out. Or, I could be nice and get him to ask me out.

I gingerly sat next to him and carefully placed a hand on his shoulder.

He looked at me with a strange, expectant expression, "Well? When is the screaming and the swearing going to start?"

I started rubbing his shoulder, he seemed utterly amazed that I was touching him and being calm. But, truth be told, I don't know how I could yell at Edward…now anyways.

Sure when I had first saw him I wanted to rip his throat out, but now, seeing him so upset and vulnerable…I just couldn't bring myself to.

"Edward-" I began, but he cut me off.

"Bella, please, listen to me. I am so, so sorry. You may think that I am blowing this way out of proportion, but I feel sick, sick to my core. To know that I hurt you like that is just…painful," his expression was so horrified, yet so beautiful I opened my mouth to speak but he interrupted me again.

"Isabella, you misunderstood. The only reason that I'm dating Tanya is because…"he took a deep breath, "her father owns the company where I work, he gave me a promotion to ask her out, and then told me that if I ever left her that I would get fired."

He gazed up at me, his green eyes scorching.

"Just please, please tell me…can you ever forgive me?"

I could see that he was in pain; that much was obvious. But, I hadn't expected him to feel this strongly. To sit here, listening to him saying these words, I felt terrible. _I_ had blown this way out of proportion. I looked at Edward, the agony in his eyes was clear to anybody. Suddenly, he looked 4 years old rather than 24 years old; like a child who had told his brother to shut up. Feeling guilty and making a much bigger deal out of it than it really was.

I didn't know why I cared so much, honestly I didn't! I could leave right now, just get up and walk away. When we saw each other at things around town, I'd give him a gracious nod and head the other way. I'd find somebody else, someone better who didn't mock me the way he did.

But when I thought about not talking to him again, not seeing him, it literally caused me pain. Oh, how far we had come in a day! It was frustrating because I had never felt this strongly about anybody before.

"Bella?" his irresistible voice interrupted my thoughts, "can you forgive me?"

"Yes," I replied softly, "yes, of course I can." I gave him an encouraging smile and he smiled back.

We stood up and I embraced him. For a moment, he was hesitant, then, ever so carefully, he wrapped his arms around me and held me there.

Time seemed to hold still. Me and him; that was what mattered. The feeling of my body, pressed up against his, it felt right somehow. I hid my face in his chest, and we stood there. He rested his face against my hair and I tightened the embrace. It was so very strange, I felt like I had known Edward for years rather than a day.

Then too soon, he let me go.

I looked up at him, disappointment clear on my face. He chuckled and pulled me closer one more time.

"Thank-you Bella," he murmured into my hair.

"Anytime."

"So, how would you like getting a coffee with me?" he asked, jumping back.

"Um, sure I guess, just make sure it's somewhere different than Alice and Jazz, she'll kill me if I ruin her moment," I giggled and he laughed beside me.

We walked together to the ladies room; I was surprised to see that he intended to come in with me.

"Whoa," I said, placing a restraining hand on his chest, "where do you think you're going?"

He smiled a crooked smile that stopped my heart, "Coming in, of course."

"Nu-uh mister, this is for 'women' only," I pointed to the sign over the door, a sly smile coming over my face "unless there's something that you'd like to tell me?" I raised my eyes at him.

He got what I meant, and laughed, "Fine, I'll wait for you outside," he bent down to whisper in my ear, "don't take too long," and then turned suddenly and left.

My heart was pounding as I stood outside the women's locker room, completely breathless.

I pushed open the door to see Alice sitting at a vanity mirror, blow-drying her hair.

"Al, what are you still doing here?" I asked.

"Bella, it takes _time_ to look as fabulous as I do," she grinned at me, "now leave me alone, I need to get ready."

"Okay then, I guess you don't want to hear what happened between me and Edward then…"

At that she jumped up out of the chair and grasped my shoulders, a huge smile on her face, "What the hell happened Bella?"

I pressed my lips together and shook my head fiercely from side to side, "Nope, you said and I quote 'leave me alone, I need to get ready!'"

I laughed at her expression that was both desperate for information and tortured. She grasped my hand and pulled me to a chair opposite her.

"Sit," she commanded.

I did as she asked while she calmly sat down and crossed her legs.

"Now Bella," she began, "spill!"

So, I began telling her about everything that happened between me and Edward. Lingering on the details of how it felt when he held me, and how he whispered in my ear.

A squeal of "awwwwwwwww's" erupted when I told her what happened at the locker room.

"Bella, he like, totally likes you!"

"Do you really think so?" I asked doubtfully.

"Most definitely, Bella, he's giving up his job for you! Doesn't that _say_ how much a man likes you?"

"I guess," I muttered, trying to hide my excitement.

"Aw Bella, I am so, so happy for you and…Holy shit! What fucking time is it?" she glanced down at her watch and looked up at me.

"Bella what fucking time is it? My watch isn't working right?"

"Um," I fumbled to look at my phone; there was a new text message from Edward.

"It's 4:00," I said to her as I was scrolling through my messages.

_Bella,_

_It's been 40 minutes,_

_Are you girls alright?_

_Jasper and I are getting worried._

_Edward_

"Oh crap," I muttered.

Alice glared at me, "How could you let us spend 40 minutes in here talking! I was supposed to get coffee with Jazz, my date is in…" she counted in her head, "2 hours! I won't have enough time to get ready!"

"Alice, calm down alright!" I shouted at her, playfully.

"Bella, there's only2 hours! I have to pick an outfit, do my hair again, shave my legs, facial…"

She looked at me, trying not to laugh, but failing completely.

"Oh well, better late than never," she giggled.

We linked arms together, picked up our gym bags, and walked out the door.

Looking completely knackered was Jasper, lounging across a couch. While Edward, bless him, was standing there with 2 cups of coffee.

He handed one to me, "Hey."

"Hi," I breathed in response. He swept my hair behind my ear and whispered in my ear.

"Come on, I want to take you somewhere…special," he whispered.

My eyes rolled back into my head for a moment, and he must have seen because he started laughing.

"Oh Bella," he chuckled, pulling me into another hug.

I saw Alice watching us intently, smiling with a big, fat grin plastered across her face.

I pulled away, "Come on, let's go then."

We waved goodbye to Alice and Jasper, who were now snuggling on the couch, and walked out into the blistering cold.

"Oh great," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"What?"

'It's snowing!" I complained. I hated the snow,

He chuckled beside me, "Bella, it's just snow."

I followed him to his and Jaspers car, I assumed that Alice and Jasper were taking our car, so I didn't object.

He led me to a silver Volvo in the corner of the huge parking lot. I got inside and immediately started shivering. My teeth were chattering together. _How damn cold is it?_ I thought to myself. Edward got in on the other drivers side and turned on the Volvo. My eyes flashed up to the temperature display. _13°F. Great._ I rolled my eyes and bundled up on the seat, wrapping my arms around my legs trying to keep warm. Edward saw me and started taking off his Northface jacket. When I realized what he was doing, it was too late. He shrugged out of the coat and swung it around my shoulders. I felt warmer instantly, and the scent? I inhaled deeply. It smelled like…

"Attitude by Armani," he told me smirking. He must have seen me inhaling his jacket. God how embarrassing…

"It smells…good," I finished lamely. Good was a complete understatement.

"So," I said casually, "where do you want to go?"

"Well, first of all I kind of need to break up with Tanya," I scowled when he mentioned her name. He smiled and continued. "And that will take some time. And I'll probably get a call from her father telling me that I'm fired. And then I'm all yours." He tried to grin, but I wasn't buying it. I could see that he wasn't happy about losing his job.

"Edward, you don't have to give up your job just for me-"

"Bella, I do. You're the most incredible person I've met, and I want to get a chance to know you better." He smiled genuinely this time and my heart skipped a beat. He was so beautiful and I was so…plain. There was no way in hell that this god-like creature could be meant for me.

"Tell you what, I'll pick you up tonight at 7 and we can do dinner and a movie, how does that sound?" he asked me.

He gazed at me, again unleashing the power of his scorching eyes. "Um….sounds great."

He took advantage of my speechlessness and reached over to stroke my cheek. His hand conformed to the shape of my face and he started stroking his thumb back and forth across my skin. His touch sent electric currents through my body, and my breathing became ragged. He chuckled and pulled away, turning his eyes back to the road.

I slumped back in my seat and looked at the car ceiling. I wondered about Tanya, and how far they had actually gone together…

When I looked back at him, he was staring at me with a bemused expression.

"What?" I breathed.

"I was just watching you, it's fascinating to me," he smirked.

"Edward, I have a question, and please, please be honest about it?" I tried being calm.

"Sure, anything for you Bella," he grinned his crooked smile at me and I became momentarily dazed.

"Have you and Tanya…you know…had…sex?" I whispered the last word.

He didn't respond right away, so I looked over to see him; stiffened and completely still. Obviously, this had been a question he wished I hadn't asked.

"Why does it matter?" he asked, sounding rather annoyed to me.

"It doesn't, really, I was just curious," I muttered, looking out the window. I concentrated very hard on the falling snow and the patterns it was making in the air.

"Yes," he said. His voice sounded very rigid and upset.

I instantly regretted asking him; it probably wasn't something he wanted to talk about. But just knowing now, that they had been together that way, lying on top of each other, covered in sweat and rolling around…

I shook my head, trying to push out the images that flooded my mind.

"Is there a reason you wanted to know?" he asked now, much calmer I noted.

"Not really…" I pretended to look out the window absentmindedly, hoping he wouldn't call me out on my bluff.

"What do you mean 'not really'?"

"Well, it kind of gave me an idea of how much you were willing to go with her…for a job," I found it quite disgusting that he was forced to sleep with her to keep his job.

He had stopped the car; I realized that we were outside my apartment building. He leaned over and took my face between his hands.

"Bella, I was a selfish, self-centered workaholic who needed a job. It was nothing more, do you understand me? She doesn't mean anything to me, it's just you now," he muttered.

I blushed furiously when he said "it's just you now," My heart reacted violently and my breathing became uneven as he leaned forward, tilting his head to the side and coming closer still.

"Bella…" he whispered.

And then my ringtone: _Hot N Cold, _filled the car. He immediately dropped his hands and leaned back.

_Alice Brandon 3_

I flipped open the phone and hissed into the phone. "What do you want Alice?"

"Oh jeez Bella, I'm just checking to make sure you arrived back home…or are you at his place?" I could hear the building curiosity in her voice.

I decided to have a little fun with her, "Yes, as a matter of fact I am and…ooh…oh…Edward stop! Ugh!" I moaned, dramatizing a little. I winked at Edward when his mouth fell open, signaling him to play along.

"Oh Bella, Bella, Bella, Bella!" he moaned. I blushed and imagined what he would sound like if we were…

"Omigod Bella! I didn't know you two were having SEX!" she whispered. "I'll leave you two alone now, have fun, and tell me _every_ little detail about it when I get home later on!" and with that she hung up the phone.

I snapped it shut and looked over at Edward who was laughing so hard he was gripping his sides.

"Sorry about that, Alice…"

"Ha-ha, I don't mind Bella. Anytime you need me to do that for you, I most certainly will,"

My breath came in a quick gasp as he said those words. He couldn't possibly mean…

Edward saw my expression and laughed, "Come on, I'll walk you up."

He was out of the car and at my door before I opened my door. He opened it for me and held my hand as he helped me out of the Volvo.

"Wow, what a gentleman."

"Thank-you Miss Swan."

When he held my hand up the stairs, his excuse was "I don't want you to fall over and break your leg." In the hallways, "I think you have ice on the bottom of your shoes Bella."And in the elevator; for that he had no excuse. I smiled to myself, I didn't mind.

When the elevator doors opened, I said goodbye to Mrs. Yorkie, who I had been talking to, and exited the elevator with Edward firmly by my side. We walked in silence until we reached my apartment, when he turned to face me.

"Thank-you Bella for forgiving me, I've been thinking about you all night, and well, I wasn't sure how you would react when you saw me at the gym today…"

I put my finger to his lips and shook my head, "It's fine, I forgive you Edward, all that matters now is you and me…" I trailed off as he, like he had in the car, shaped his hand to the side of my face.

"Regardless, it's not as if I don't deserve far worse." He sighed and looked down.

I pulled up his chin so that our faces were at the same level.

"Hey, remember what I said, it's just you and me now…" I bent my head towards him. He did the same. He dropped his hand and circled his arms around my waist. He pulled me closer to him until our bodies were touching. Our breathing was ragged and on-edge. I could feel my heart rate increase rapidly, his hands move downed to my bottom and rested there. I looked up at him as his eyes pierced right through me.

"Bella," he whispered. He bent his head eagerly towards mine. Our lips were less than an inch away when an annoying voice I knew all too well shouted "Bella, I thought I heard you out there!"

Rosalie's eyes widened drastically when she realized what she interrupted.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, don't let me interrupt anything…" she blushed and turned around when Edward spoke up.

"Actually," his voice was low and very, very seductive "I really need to be going. Bella, I will pick you up tonight at 6:30, dress casual-comfortable for dinner," he flashed a quick smile.

"Um, do you mind telling me where we're going?"

He smiled and shook his head, "Not a chance, this is our first date Bella and I want to keep it a surprise."

My heart leapt when he said "our first date."

I was suddenly very aware that Edward and I were pressed up against each other, and the fact that Rosalie was standing against the doorframe with her arms crossed, waiting for us to say goodbye.

But Edward made no move to go; he merely pressed himself closer to me. Only when Rosalie coughed rather loudly did he blush and pull back. I had to admit, I was extremely upset when he let me go.

He ran his hands through his hair. God he looks sexy when he does that.

"I guess I'll see you later then. Bye Rosalie," he waved at her, "bye Bella, I'll miss you." He came back over to me and placed a light kiss on my cheek. I had to try my very hardest not to turn my face.

_Behave Bella._

And with that, he turned around and strode away from us.

"Bella…" Rosalie breathed in awe.

I turned around and faced her, my face stretched into a wide and obnoxious grin. "I know!" I squealed.

She yanked me into the apartment and turned to face me as soon as we were inside.

She threw her palms up in frustration, "Well?"

"I don't know what you mean Rosie."

"Alice called me…and don't deny it…I know you guys were having," I saw her leaning closer.

"Oh relax Rose, it's not a swear word!" I giggled.

"SEX!" she yelled, then covered her mouth.

I pursed my lips to keep from laughing. But eventually, I couldn't contain it anymore. I started doubling over with laughter. I couldn't imagine Rosalie being scared to say the word sex.

"Did you?" she gasped.

I was still laughing uncontrollably and didn't have enough breath to say "no". I saw her expression change instantly. It was no longer full of disapproval, but interest.

"Tell me everything!" she commanded, grabbing my wrist and pulling me down onto the couch, "how was he?" she asked with a curious expression on her face.

"Rose!" I scolded her, "we didn't have sex."

Her eyebrows rose. "You didn't?"

"Nope."

"But…Alice told me that she heard you guys moaning on the phone." She placed her hands on her hips.

"We were playing a joke on her Rose, he was about to kiss me when she rang my phone!" I sat back on the couch and stared at the ceiling.

She slithered up next to me and very cautiously asked, "Don't you think it's a little…soon…for that?"

I sat up and looked at her, "Rose, I don't know how to explain it. I feel like I've known him all my life. He genuinely seems sorry for what he did, and I'm going to forgive him."

With that, she hugged me close for a minute and then disappeared into the kitchen to get started on dinner.

I stood up and walked, rather ran, into my bedroom. As soon as I got into my room, I immediately started going through my dresser, trying to find the perfect outfit to wear.

About 25 minutes later, Rosalie and Alice entered my room to find me sitting on the floor, surrounded by a pile of shoes.

"Girls…" I began hopefully.

Rose and Alice smiled at me and without saying a word, strode forward and started going through my closets.

"Oooooh!" Alice screeched, "Bella, you _have_ to wear this one!" She was holding up a strapless hot pink, mid thigh dress that barely covered my bum.

"Al, she's not wearing a stripper dress on her first day," Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"Fine, fine, fine, but you're going to have to wear it someday."

Truth be told, I didn't like half the things in my wardrobe. Half was basically things Alice had chosen for me that she refused to give up. So I was stuck with a bunch of spandex hot pants, tight fitting shirts and stripper dresses.

"Okay Bella, we have found _the _perfect outfit for you," Rosalie said excitedly.

I turned around to see her holding up a sleeveless black dress, tight fitting, that came down to my knees. It was simple, but elegant. Next to her, Alice was holding up my favorite pair of shoes: Black, satin Jimmy Choo's that cost a fortune, but made me feel like a million bucks.

I looked at them speechlessly, emotionlessly, trying to torture them. They looked back at me with wide eyes until I burst into a huge grin and stood up to hug them.

"Thank-you so, so much!" we jumped up and down until Rosalie's phone started playing _Sexy Can I_. She blushed and left the room.

"Emmett," me and Alice said together.

We snuck over and pressed our ears against my bedroom door.

"No Emmett…this is their first date…why? Because it's important to her and I don't want to ruin it…," she blushed and a smile spread across her face, "fine, hold on one second."

We could hear her moving about, coming towards the door.

"Get back," I hissed. We ran and sat on the bed just as Rose was coming through the door with an apologetic expression on her face.

"Hey Bella, I have Emmett on the phone, he's wondering if it would be alright to…," she took a deep breath, "triple date." She looked at me and shrugged her shoulders.

I considered my options here, going back and forth on purpose to rile her up. I'd see her change to hopeful, then sad and disappointed and back again. It was very amusing. Finally I sighed and nodded.

She started clapping her hands together and ran back out the door yelling, "Emmett, she said yes!"

Alice started rubbing my shoulders, "I know how important this date is to you."

I shrugged and laid my head on her shoulder, "It's fine, as long as we're together. Who knows, it might be fun to triple date."

She still didn't look convinced.

"Come on Alice, let me go help you find an outfit."

As I was getting up, she pressed a hand to my chest. "Whoa, nu-uh Bells. I love you and all but…" she bit her bottom lip, "you don't have a very good taste in fashion." She blurted in a rush then clapped her hand to her mouth.

To my surprise I giggled; this wasn't new to me.

"All right fine, you go get dressed, I'll do my own hair and stuff."

"Oh no, Isabella Swan, if you think that Rose and I are going to pass up the chance to give you a makeover…" she shook her head with a sly look in her eye, "you're wrong." She looked at me and slid out the door.

I gulped.

Rose came striding through the door wearing a grey sweater dress that came down above her knees. It was tight-fitting and v-necked to show her amazing cleavage and curves. She was wearing sheer, black pantyhose and amazing Stella McCartney knee high black boots. Her hair was curled and spread gracefully over her shoulders. I felt a tiny sting of jealousy. Why couldn't I look like that?

I smiled, "Victoria's Secret Miracle Push-Up Bra," it wasn't a question, it was a statement.

She nodded and sat beside me, "You know me too well Bella."

"Now Isabella," Alice's voice came menacingly from behind the door, "Rosalie and I are going to do your hair, do your makeup and make sure you look utterly fabulous. If you object, you will suffer the consequences. Rose, pin her down."

Before I knew what was happening, Rosalie formed manacles around my wrists and pinned me to my bed.

"Sorry about this Bella," she apologized. I wasn't buying it though. She had a wicked glint in her eyes.

I saw Alice enter the room with 2 curling irons, her endless supply of makeup and a corset she'd probably just bought for me. My eyes widened in alarm.

"No Alice, you can't do this! Please somebody help me!" I screamed dramatically.

"Oh shut up Bella, it's not like we're torturing you," Alice scoffed.

With that, they got to work.

…

"Wow," I breathed in amazement.

"I know!" Alice sang.

I was staring at somebody in my full-length mirror, but I couldn't bring myself to believe it was me. The girl in the mirror was too beautiful to be me. The woman stared back at me with a curious expression on her face, one very similar to my own. She was wearing the tight-fitting black dress and satin Jimmy Choo's, but the hair and makeup was what really set it off. Her hair was curled loosely and hung down past her shoulders, giving her that messy "bedroom" look as Alice had pointed out. Her ivory skin looked flawless and airbrushed, with just the tiniest hint of rose blush on her cheeks. Her eyes had a smoky-brown color swept across them and they were topped off with a swipe of mascara and some black eyeliner. The color on her lips was the only color that stood out because her lipstick was blood-red. I blinked, making sure that she wouldn't disappear.

Alice and Rosalie saw me eyeing her and silently left the room to finish getting ready.

I'd never thought of myself as pretty, just plain and average looking. When guys would break up with me, I'd always assumed that it was because I wasn't beautiful enough. It would take a huge hit on my confidence that I would always drown out with Haagen-Dazs ice cream; and then I'd end up gaining 4 pounds.

But for the first time in my life, I actually felt…beautiful.

I was looking on the back of my door for a purse when the doorbell rang. I continued looking so that I wouldn't have to face Edward yet while I was hyperventilating. Somebody, I'm guessing Rosalie, opened the door and let the guys in. I heard a muffle of different "Hello's" and, "Don't you look beautiful's" from Emmett and Jasper, but I couldn't hear Edwards's familiar voice.

My heart sank; maybe he had decided not to come after all.

I heard my door creak open, but didn't bother looking up to see who it was; probably Alice coming to check on me.

"Hello there, you look absolutely beautiful" a velvet voice whispered in my ear.

I froze and turned around.


	8. Triple Date

**I own nothing; Stephenie Meyer owns all the characters. I just make them do my bidding :)**

_A.N- This is sort of 2 chapters in one. The second part, I decided, was too short for a full chapter, so I squished them together and voila!_

Chapter 8 – Triple Date

"Edward," I spun around so fast I nearly fell over.

In my heels, I was almost as tall as him. He put his arms around my waist and pulled me up so that we were standing face-to-face.

He swept my hair behind my shoulder and bent down to my ear. "As I was saying, hello beautiful." He pressed his lips to my shoulder and started skimming over my collarbone with his mouth. His breath warmed my skin where he touched me and I closed my eyes, reveling in the strange sensation of his mouth on my skin.

He made his way back to my shoulder and I gasped when he parted his lips and started kissing it-open mouthed. My body tensed and I stopped breathing. He chuckled and pulled away and appraised me from head to toe; after awhile, he smirked at me, with an amused and confused expression on his face. I looked him up and down too. He was wearing a tight, black, long-sleeved sweater that fit him snugly, emphasizing just how muscular his chest really was. He had on a pair of faded jeans and some worn, grey converse.

"What?" I asked slowly. I turned around and looked in the mirror to see that I hadn't forgotten something; like clothes. He came up behind me and rested his chin on my shoulder, pulling me closer against his body.

"Don't you think you are a _little_ overdressed?" he said, his voice close to a whisper.

I did realize that I was dressed a little fancier compared to him. I turned around in his arms and looked at him, "No, why?"

He looked like he was explaining what 2+2 was to a 4 year old, "Bella, we're going ice-skating, you do know that?" he asked innocently, slowly. It took a moment for his words to process.

_Ice-skating._ _Oh, hell no._

"Edward! I can't ice-skate!" I yelled at him.

A grin came over his face and he spoke slowly, "And that's because…?"

I threw up my hands in exasperation, "Have you not seen me? I'm clumsy! I'll fall down and probably break a leg or something!"

I flopped down on the bed, crossing my arms like a child and pushing out my lower lip. Edward came to sit beside me and put his arm around my shoulders.

"Bella, you won't fall down today, I Promise," his voice had a seal of approval and he stared at me with those green eyes, those gorgeous, sexy green eyes, "besides you bounce back pretty fast." He looked at my ankle that I had injured earlier on and raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, fine, I might have been overreacting earlier today at the gym but seriously! How do you _know_ that I'm not going to break something and have to be rushed to the hospital, huh?" I knew I was making a way bigger deal out of this than I was supposed to, but I really didn't feel like going to the emergency room tonight.

He touched my trembling bottom lip with his finger and I shivered. "Because I promise not to let go of you the entire evening."

I thought about that for a moment, and involuntarily my face broke into a huge grin, "Fine, but now you'll have to wait longer because I need to change. I'm not going to go ice-skating in formal wear when you're dressed like that." I gestured to his casual attire and he rolled his eyes.

I got up and opened the door for him, but he made no move to exit my room, instead, he simply lay down and lounged on the edge of my bed, an expectant smirk on his angelic face.

I sighed and pointed to the door in frustration. He simply grinned and stretched out even more, lounging on his back. I finally let out a deep breath and walked over to him.

I decided to have a little fun with him. "Edward, I'd prefer the first time you see me in my underwear was not now…maybe later," I ran my fingers down his chiseled chest and let out a devilish grin as his eyes widened, "that's what I thought, now run along like a good little boy. I'll be out in 5 minutes."

He jumped up and I pushed him towards the door. He reluctantly left with a mischievous look on his face and I made sure to lock my door so he couldn't sneak in on me. I turned and pressed my back against it, sinking to my knees and eventually sitting on the floor, hiding my head between my knees. I couldn't control the butterflies in my stomach. _Maybe Rosalie's right._ Things did seem to be moving a little fast.

I was interrupted by a tiny fist, frantically pounding on my door. I jumped up and backed away.

"Bella," Alice began, pleading with me, "could you please hurry up? We want to get going. It's going to drop to 5°F in about 2 hours and I don't know about you but I really don't want to freeze my ass off tonight!" She was yelling at me now and pounding on the door with her fist. It sounded very funny, hearing swear words out of Alice's mouth. It didn't sound the least bit threatening.

"Alice, let me talk to her quickly," I heard Edward murmur, "Bella, are you getting dressed? If you need some help, I'd be happy to assist you…" I could hear the smile as he talked, and I could also hear the quiet laughing of the rest of them out there, Emmett especially. My heart rate increased at the seductive tone in his voice.

"Or, you know, I could help you with that Bella…Ow! What the hell did you do that for?" Emmett yelled. I guessed that Rosalie or Alice had whacked him in the arm. I giggled.

"Fine, fine!" I reassured them, "I'll be out in 2 minutes."

I got up off the floor and picked out my comfiest clothes: a deep-blue, v-necked blouse and worn in jeans that I had had since I was 20 years old. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and bounded out of the room carrying my warmest coat. I saw Jasper and Emmett sitting on the couch playing the Wii and Rosalie and Alice were in the kitchen talking and drinking coffee. Edward was leaning up against the wall next to my door.

"Hey," I breathed.

"Hi," he smiled crookedly at me.

I went over to him and gave him a quick hug, but when I started pulling away, he only held on tighter. It was silent for a while and we stared into each other's eyes. Emmett was the one who finally broke the silence by "coughing".

"Um, if you guys are done over there, how about we get going?" he asked, shutting off the Wii.

"Yeah, let's get going" I said, gently unwinding myself from Edwards arms.

Rose and Alice finished their coffee and went to their respective dates sides. Alice was skipping rather than walking and Rosalie trudging rather than walking. She looked at me with a pouty expression on her beautiful face. It was clear in her eyes that she wasn't looking forward to ice-skating. Emmett saw her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then whispered something in her ear that made her blush 5 different shades of red, then she giggled. Rosalie never giggled.

"What?" I mouthed to her.

She pressed her lips together to keep from laughing, her cheeks turning a shade darker than they already were and mouthed, "Nothing," back to me.

Edward wrapped his arm tenderly around my waist and held me next to him. He whispered in my ear, "That color blue looks lovely with your skin." Butterflies flooded my stomach and my throat once again, making talking completely impossible.

"Well, let's get going shall we?" Alice trilled excitedly, her eyes alight and wide. I knew that she loved ice-skating.

We all walked out the door of the apartment. The boys had taken 3 different cars-god only knows why they would do that-so I was to ride with Edward in his shiny, silver Volvo. I slid into the car and immediately turned on the heating. Alice was right, it was already getting colder outside.

"So, is the skating inside or outside?" I asked turning my torso so that I could see Edward's face. It was dark outside by now, so the only light in the car was the green light coming off of the dashboard. It reflected off of his face and outlined all of his perfect features.

He turned to me and smiled in the darkness, "Outside."

_Great. Fucking fantastic. _

"Bella?" he asked when he realized I hadn't said anything.

"What?" I told him, a little sharper than necessary. I instantly regretted using that tone with him and was worried that I had hurt him.

To my surprise, he laughed, "Nothing." Something about my answer seemed to amuse him.

He backed out of the parking space and started speeding down the road. I hadn't noticed earlier how fast he drove-probably because I was distracted by him-and I was sort of glad that I didn't. He drove like a maniac! He weaved his way through the city, making sharp turns and speeding downs roads at the top of the speed limit. I clung onto the bottom of my seat and pulled the seatbelt tighter, so tight that I could barely breathe. I was shocked to find that the roads were practically empty. I bumped into the side of the car as he turned a corner at the last moment, but somehow managed not to flip the damn car over.

I pulled up my knees and started hugging them, rocking back and forth, silently praying to god.

_Please don't let me die, please don't let me die, please don't let me-_

"Bella, we're here," Edward looked over at me, smirking when he saw the position I was in. I stared at him with wide eyes, no doubt a frightened expression plastered across my face.

"I like to drive fast," he muttered, then snapped his fingers in front of me, waking me from my trance.

I blinked several times to make sure I had survived, then carefully climbed out of the car, gripping the frame for support when I realized how slippery the road was. I heard several voices chuckle at me and I whipped my head around to see Edward, Emmett and Rosalie standing there, laughing their asses off. I was very cautious as I made my way around to where the others were standing, when suddenly, a pair of small, white hands tickled my sides and I fell over onto the hard, icy pavement.

I looked up, resentment and fury in my eyes, as well as embarrassment, to see Alice standing above me with her hands on her tiny hips, a victorious smile plastered on her face. I sat there until Edward reached out his hand to me and helped me up. He steadied me when I was about to fall over again. Emmett and Rose started laughing again, and I shot them a look that immediately had them quiet.

I turned my attention back to Alice, whose arms were linked with Jaspers, and simply gave her a warning smile. I would get her back for this; I'd make sure that she pay. We stared at each other for a few more seconds until Jasper cleared his throat and my eyes snapped to Edward who was standing there, just glaring at Jasper.

"Interesting Bella, very interesting," he chuckled, "but I do think we should get going now."

I walked across the street to the ice skating rink entrance, Edward at my side, and marched over to the slightly overweight lady at the counter. She was in her mid-40's with brown, frizzy hair and a pair of tortoiseshell glasses. She was wearing an oversized black t-shirt and jeans that obviously did not fit her. I opened my mouth to request a pair of skates when Edward came over and started talking first.

"Hello," he used his sexiest voice and the ladies eyes widened when she realized he was talking to her, "I was wondering if we could get 2 pairs of skates?"

She fluttered her eyelashes. "What sizes?" she gulped. I looked at Edward to see that he was staring at her, unleashing the full power of his hypnotic eyes. Then he looked at me.

"Size 7," I answered automatically.

"Size 11," Edward murmured to her, leaning across the counter. I felt sorry for the poor woman who stood there, completely dazzled. She raised her eyebrows and blinked several times then gulped. Reluctantly, she turned around and reappeared with 2 sets of ice-skates. Edward thanked her and handed me the pair of shoes. He turned around and placed his hand on my waist, pulling me closer. I snuck a quick look at the woman behind the counter. She looked utterly heartbroken; I stifled a giggle and turned back around.

When we were sitting on the bench, Edward got down on one knee and took the ice-skate from my hand. He wriggled it onto my foot and started doing up the laces. After a minute or two, the silence was unbearable and he looked up at me as we both burst into hysterics.

When we were finished laughing, I tried to talk calmly. "Edward, how could you do that to her?" I scolded. He stared at me wordlessly, waiting for me to continue.

"Dazzle her like that! It's hardly fair."

"Bella, I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," but the sly smile on his face gave him away.

"Yes you do, you were looking into her eyes and using your sexy voice!" I giggled.

He looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face and cocked his head to one side, "I have a sexy voice?"

I realized that he was completely clueless of these facts and I bent closer to him. "Oh yes, you have a _very_ sexy voice," I pulled back and stroked the side of his face. He turned his head into my palm and kissed my hand. Then, a wide grin spread across his face as he inhaled my wrist.

"Attitude by Armani?" he guessed. I had taken the liberty of borrowing some from Tyler, who lived next door to us, and spraying some on my wrists, my neck and all over my clothes. Chagrin flooded my face…maybe he'd think I was a little desperate…

To my intense relief, he laughed and sat back next to me. I rested my head on his shoulder as he started unlacing his skates and pulling them onto his feet. I glanced over at the ancient clock on the wall; it was 7:04 pm. While my date was putting on his skating shoes, I took the liberty to get up and look around a bit.

I saw Rosalie and Emmett sitting by the back door, talking. Jasper was helping Alice decide between the pink ice skating shoes, and the purple ice-skating shoes at the counter. Eventually, she went with the pink. I wandered over to a large cluster of photographs on the wall opposite the counter. As I walked closer, I saw 3 pairs of familiar eyes staring out of the photo. It was Edward, Emmett and Jasper. I wondered why there was a picture of them on the wall, until my eyes made their way to the top of the photographs; there was a sign that said: Most Valued Customers. I laughed when I scanned the other photos and saw that their "Most valued customers" were all abnormally hot guys.

I felt a pair of warm hands wind themselves around my waist and murmur something in my ear. "What are we laughing at?"

My breath caught as I twisted around in his arms to see Edward smiling crookedly at me. Again I wondered why I was so comfortable around him already.

"Nothing," I pulled myself closer, "I just noticed that you're on their most valued customers list."

He chuckled and pulled me even tighter against him, "I've been coming here since I was 11."

"Hey!" Emmett's booming voice interrupted our moment, pulling it away completely, "you guys can either press yourselves up against each other all night, or come skating with us." He raised his eyebrows at us. I knew that Emmett was joking, but a part of me wanted to say, "Thank-you but I'll stay here all night if that's alright with you." But Edward beat me to it. He pulled away and ran his fingers through his hair. God, he's so damn sexy when he does that.

"We're coming," he more conventionally held my hand as he led us over to where the others were standing.

Rosalie and Alice were snickering about our moment. I stuck my tongue out at them and they imitated my gesture. I giggled quietly and let Edward lead me to the door.

"Ready?"

"Not in the slightest," I might as well be truthful, "let's go."

He laughed and kissed the top of my head. I took a deep breath as I walked slowly out the back door._ Be calm Bella. Edwards with you. Be calm. You will not make an ass of yourself like the last time you were ice-skating…_

I shuddered at the thought. Last time I ice-skated… let's just say everybody there got a nice view of my tush when I fell over.

"Bella?" Edwards's velvety voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked around to see that everybody was looking at me expectantly.

"Yeah? Oh right…Okay, let's go." I gulped and tried to hide the fear that was building in my stomach. He smiled as he yanked me out the back door and out into the blistering cold.

It was ten times worse than I had imagined it. The rink was absolutely HUGE, there was Christmas music blaring out of the speakers, twinkly lights crowded every flat surface and there were waitresses skating around offering skaters cups of hot chocolate. At one end of the rink was a massive Christmas tree covered in multicolored lights, round, colorful baubles and tinsel in a thousand different colors. I looked up at the sky and saw the first few flakes of snow, slowly crawling their way down to the ground. I shivered from the cold, Alice was right. It would definitely be 5°F, and _soon_. I groaned.

Edward looked at me, and amused smile on his gorgeous face, "What?"

I moaned and pointed to the ice-skating rink. He simply laughed and tugged on my arm, pulling me closer to the actual rink itself. I started freaking out then.

"You guys go ahead, I'll just stay over here and wat—Edward! What the hell are you doing?" I screamed at him. Somehow, probably due to his massive upper body strength, he had swung me over his shoulders like a little kid and was heading towards the ice. I kicked and pounded my fists on his back until he sighed and put me down.

"Bella, don't make this difficult, now get on the ice," he gestured to the rink, "or I could carry you."

I gulped and looked around at Alice and Jasper, who had encouraging smiles on their faces, then I looked at Rose and Emmett, who were doubled over in hysterics. I had had enough laughing for one evening. I decided to take the high road and carefully, slowly step onto the ice. It felt unstable beneath my feet and my heart started beating a hundred miles a minute.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact of the cold ice on my ass, but it never came. I glanced down at my feet and saw that they were perfectly balanced. I was standing…on ice! I was so proud of myself. I whirled around to face Emmett and stuck my tongue out at him. Ha!

I felt Edward move me out of the way and put me next to the entrance to the rink. He climbed on and skated over to me.

"Bella, there are other people who would like to come on too," he pointed to the now huge line of people stomping their feet and looking at me like I had a third eye. I laughed quietly to myself and he smiled.

He stroked the hair off of my face, "There, it's not so bad is it?" He started pulling me off the side; I became instantly alert of what was happening and clung onto the walls for dear life.

"Isabella," he growled. I closed my eyes and shook my head from side to side.

"I'm staying right here." I stomped my foot on the ice to illustrate my point.

"Bella," he said, looking at me disapprovingly. He skated back over and touched my cheek with his hand, conforming it to the side of my face. "Please?" he breathed; unleashing the full power of his eyes. I gave up and let him pull me to the center of the rink. He let out a victorious smile and I rolled my eyes.

As he was pulling me away slowly, I saw Alice and Jasper, skating around the rink and twirling each other like they were in the Olympics. And then I saw Rose and Emmett, and I laughed harder than I had this entire evening. They were clinging onto each other and taking baby steps across the ice, it was one of the funniest things I had ever seen! I knew how much Rose despised skating, but Emmett? I never thought a big, strong beast like him could be afraid of falling over.

I realized now that we were in the middle of the ice, and Edward had started pulling me across to the other side. I took a deep breath and, trying to show off, started skating ahead of him. I was surprised to find that I actually could walk -or in this case skate- across a flat surface without falling over. I genuinely thought I was doing well, until I saw Edward skating around the entire rink before I had even reached the other side.

"Bella, you're doing fantastically, but you are a bit slow!" he laughed before taking my hand and leading me around the ice. I had to admit that I was actually enjoying myself! Skating was quite fun once you got the hang of it, and it made it all the better that you had a fabulous man skating with you. More than once, he looked down at me and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. Each time he did, my heart sprinted off its regular rhythm and took on a mind of its own.

This was turning out to be the best first-date of my life.

…

"Ha-ha-ha, very funny, you're just jealous because my date can actually skate!" Alice giggled to Rosalie. Emmett turned pink and went back to drinking his vodka.

"Yeah, well at least I know that my date can hold down a few drinks," Rosalie shot back. Sure enough, Jasper was close to passing out after a few glasses.

We had left the ice-skating rink about 2 hours ago and were currently in a piano bar…somewhere. To be honest, I wasn't that good at holding down alcohol either. Edward sat beside me, his arm around my shoulder, stroking my arm. His touch sent shivers up and down my body. It was probably around 10:30 pm right now. And some guy was up on stage singing a very, very bad rendition of _It's raining men_ on a dare.

"So Bella, after this guy is done singing, how about you go up and sing something?" Rosalie lent across the coffee table, and hiccupped after she finished her sentence. I laughed, thinking she was joking, and she widened her eyes. That's when I realized that she was serious.

I shook my head and Alice chimed in. "Yeah Bells, we hear you sing in the shower all the time," Alice slurred her words together, I guessed she'd had one drink too many. She turned to Edward and said, "Whitney Houston is her favorite." I blushed and started playing with a piece of my hair.

"Interesting, I'll have to remember that."He looked over at me and smiled. "Bella," he whispered in my ear, "come on, go up there and sing, for me." He fluttered his eyelashes and I hid my face in my coat, desperate not to succumb to the power of his dazzling abilities. "What are you doing?" he asked me, amused.

Once again, I decided the truth was better than a lie. "Because, when you look at me like that you can get me to do whatever you want me to."

Emmett became very animated then, "Hear that Ed? _Whatever_ you want her to do." He had a wicked grin on his face and we all burst into hysterics, except Edward who simply hit him on the arm.

"Ouch, hey man I'm just saying, it could come in handy in the future."

Edward rolled his eyes at Emmett's childish behavior.

Emmett imitated him, rolling his eyes with a bit too much exaggeration, then he turned to me and said, "Watch out Bella, Edward's no fun."

Before Edward had a chance to respond, I heard clapping and he let out a huge sigh. He took his arm off my shoulders and got up. I looked at him and my face must have looked somewhere between desperate and cute, because he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and sauntered of towards the stage, laughing the whole way there.

"Emmett," I hissed, "what is he doing up there?"

It seems he was the only one that the alcohol wasn't affecting, as he was the only one fully alert. "He's going up to sing Bella, what do you think?"

I whipped my head around at the sound of clapping to see Edward sitting on a stool on stage, with a guitar in his hand. Several girls started whistling as they saw his face. He switched on the microphone and his beautiful voice came over the speakers.

"I'd like to dedicate this song to Isabella Swan back there," he pointed to me and several people turned around to get a good look at me. I sunk down into the sofa and he laughed. "She is the most beautiful and amazing woman I have ever met." A chorus of aw's erupted from the audience and I hid my face in my hands. Rose, Em and Alice were doubled over with laughter. I noticed that Jasper had been completely silent this whole time, then I started laughing as I saw that he was completely passed out, his head resting on Alice's lap. She was stroking his hair like an affectionate mother. Her mouth was moving but I couldn't hear anything. She looked at him with such adoration in her eyes; they were so perfect for each other. I was looking at Alice and Jasper when I heard a familiar someone's voice come over the speakers again.

_Hey there Delilah, what's it like in New York City_

_I'm a thousand miles away _

_But girl tonight you look so pretty, yes you do_

_Times Square cant shine as bright as you, I swear it's true_

My eyes started to well up at the sound of his voice, it was, it was…there was no word to describe the sound coming out of his mouth.

_Hey there Delilah, don't you worry about the distance_

_I'm right there if you get lonely give this song another listen_

_Close your eyes, listen to my voice it's my disguise_

_I'm by your side_

I was crying when I looked at his angelic face up there, with eyes only for me. He made the lead singer's voice sound like rusty nails. How did he know that was my favorite song? I glanced over at Rosalie, who was completely mesmerized by the music, and she winked at me and gave me a tender smile. I turned my attention back to Edward, who was strumming the guitar and singing like he was a professional. The audience was waving their arms in the air and occasionally somebody would let out a whistle. His eyes met mine and he grinned at me.

And then, too soon, it was over. Everyone applauded him, people stood up and more than a few girls started screaming at the top of their lungs, but he paid no attention to them. Girls threw themselves at him and started handing him their numbers. I stifled a laugh as I turned back to face the others. Rosalie and Alice were staring at me with the most bizarre expression on their faces. It almost looked…proud?

He sat down and resumed his position next to me that he had earlier. I turned my head to look at him, with tears streaming down my face. I didn't know what to say. I probably looked like an idiot, with mascara running down my face. Damn Alice for not giving me waterproof. I sat there with my mouth hanging open, gawking at him.

"Edward-" I began but he silenced me by touching his finger softly over my lips. My eyes widened.

"It's not trouble at all," he took down his finger and I started sobbing again, hiding my face in his chest.

"Was it that terrible?" he asked everybody. But when I looked up at everyone's faces, Rose and Alice were close to tears and Emmett had the hugest grin across his face. He said, and it sounded a bit envious, "Nice man." Edward quietly laughed. "Thanks."

I attempted to talk again. "Thank-you, so, so much, it was beautiful. I loved it," I whispered.

He started rubbing my arm and rested his cheek against my hair. We sat there until I curled my way into him and held onto his shirt. He pulled me closer and I eventually fell asleep, but not before I felt him lift me up and mutter, "Let's go."

…

He settled me into the car, I blinked my eyes rapidly to make sure I was awake and I heard him talking to Emmett outside who was supporting a very, very sallow looking Rosalie. But, of course, he still looked alert, like he'd taken about 7 cups of cappuccinos.

"I'm going to take her home to my place I think."

"Dude, you're not going to…"

"No, Emmett what the hell? I just want to make sure she's okay. I'll sleep on the couch, she can sleep in my bed," I heard Edward tell him.

"Fine, sure, I'm going to take Rose back to her place then," he chuckled, "at least she's not passed out. I'll be back soon."

They said goodbye and Edward climbed in the driver's seat, starting the car. I didn't know when, but I eventually passed out again. This time I didn't wake up.

…

It was about 11:00 when Edward carried me up into his apartment. He obviously didn't mind carrying 119 pounds in his arms as he walked up the stairs and held me in the elevator. The bright fluorescent lights are what finally made me come to my senses.

"Edwa…Wha…what am I doing here?" I asked groggily, rubbing my eyes.

He bent down and pressed his lips to my forehead. "Sleep Bella, we're back at my place…no, not like that," he chuckled when he saw my expression, "I just want to make sure you're okay, you can sleep in my bed, and I'll sleep on the couch."

"Okay," I mumbled, and then yawned, stretching out in his arms. He held onto me tighter and I buried my face into his chest again. I heard the elevator door _ping!_ and he stepped out and started walking down the hallway. Somehow, he managed to open the door without setting me down.

"Bella, I'm going to go set up my bedroom for you, I'll just put you down here," I clung onto his shirt as he sat me down on his large, comfy couch. He chuckled quietly and headed towards his bedroom door. I laid down and turned my face towards the back of the couch. The next thing I heard snapped me to my senses.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I heard Edward yelling. His voice was harsh and unwelcoming.

"What do you mean Eddie?" a woman's voice cam seductively from the bedroom.

"Get the hell out of my apartment," he growled.

"Edward," I struggled trying to get up, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing Bella, go back to the living room." He sounded angry and scared at the same time.

"Oh, who's Bella?"

He seemed at a loss for words, he took a step closer to his bed and yelled, louder and angrier than before. "Get the hell out of my apartment!"

I got scared and made my way over to his door; Edward saw me and turned around, blocking his room from view. It made me all the more anxious to see what he was hiding from me.

"Bella, don't go in there!" he pleaded with me, but I wasn't buying it. He obviously didn't want me to see what or who was in there. He crossed the apartment and pinned me down onto his couch.

"GET OFF OF ME EDWARD," I yelled. He held onto me tighter, restraining me. I was getting worried now. I started hitting his chest and finally managed to push myself away. I took the chance I got and ran towards his bedroom door that he had now shut.

"Bella! It's not what you think!" he shouted at me from the couch, but I could hear him racing across his living room to try and stop me. I opened his door and froze.

I couldn't register everything at once; the shock was too much for me, not to mention the hurt and the betrayal. My body became numb and I stood in his doorway, nailed to the spot. I couldn't move. I examined her, sprawled out across his bed. My eyes started to tear up.

"Hello Bella," Tanya said, tauntingly.

And that's when I fainted.


	9. The Morning After

Chapter 9 – The Morning After

**A.N: You guys need to start reviewing. Please? Pretty, pretty please? Lol. This chapter kind of explains more in-depth what happened in the last chapter. Please don't hate me for making Edward such a dickhead, but I have to admit in a sick way, it's sort of fun =]**

**Read on and remember to review!**

**Previously-**

_I couldn't register everything at once; the shock was too much for me, not to mention the hurt and the betrayal. My body became numb and I stood in his doorway, nailed to the spot. I couldn't move. I examined her, sprawled out across his bed. My eyes started to tear up._

"_Hello Bella," Tanya said, tauntingly. _

_And that's when I fainted._

I rolled over onto my back and stared at ceiling. I had been awake for hours now, just lying here. My head was pounding, and my heart felt like it had been broken in two. I had been thinking about him. I know shouldn't be thinking about Edward; I wasn't stupid, but I still found myself fascinated by him. I was so confused. I didn't know what to think- what to conclude. I felt betrayed, embarrassed, stupid, hurt, but mostly angry. I felt betrayed because I had believed him, embarrassed for throwing myself at him like I had, stupid for believing that he had ever told her goodbye, and hurt because I truly cared about Edward. And all of these reasons combined was why I felt angry.

One part of me wanted to think that I was dreaming. That I was safe and sound, sleeping in Edwards warm, cushy bed. That I would wake up and he'd been in the kitchen, making breakfast for us. We'd talk for hours and reminisce about last night. He'd drive me home and kiss me on the forehead like he had before. And everything would be normal, not twisted like it now was.

But the other part, the more logical part, knew that that wasn't what happened. As soon as I had walked into Edwards's bedroom, I had seen Tanya, long and beautiful and nearly naked, lounging on his bed. It was worse than I had imagined. Alice was wrong; she was gorgeous, as beautiful as Rosalie. Her hair was long and slick and her skin pale and glowing in the moonlight that had been let in through the curtains. Her voice was high and taunting. She had laid there, wearing nothing more than a pair of lacy underwear and a bra. I could see why Edward would lie about his reasons for dating her. He probably made up all that crap about her being part of his job.

And here I was, thinking that last night had been going so well, when in reality he'd been waiting for her all along. He would probably try to call later on, and when he did, I would ignore his calls, because if I didn't, then he'd convince me to forgive him. I'd tell Emmett and Jasper to tell him to leave me alone. Our paths probably wouldn't cross again. It will be like none of this ever happened.

I could do that, I was strong enough to never see him again.

But, as I thought about my proposed plan, it hurt, physically hurt, to think about never seeing him again.

_God you are an idiot!_

I rolled back over onto my stomach, buried my head in my pillows and started screaming. Rose told me it's a good way to get the anger out. I seemed to drag it out longer though, screaming and pounding on my bed with my fists and punching my pillow repeatedly. I'm sort of ashamed to admit I was imagining the pillow as Edward.

When I was done, I cautiously looked around me to make sure I hadn't woken anybody. Alice didn't seem to be standing over my bed brandishing a knife-we all know how she needs her beauty sleep-so I decided the coast was clear. I sat up on my bed and ran my hand once through my hair.

_Whoa. Head rush._

Obviously I still had a hangover. I swung my feet over my bed and stood up.

_Whoa. More like a huge hangover._

I decided it would be best to take some Aleve for the pounding headache, and order some McDonalds to calm my stomach. For some reason whenever I got hangovers, my stomach felt like it hadn't been fed for weeks. And some nice, greasy, unhealthy, fattening McDonalds always made me feel better. Ironic, I know.

I threw on my silk nightgown, as all I had on was a tank top and a pair of Victoria's Secret Pink underwear, and quietly opened my bedroom door. When it was this early, I didn't need to wake up the rest of my household to suffer with me. I tiptoed out into my living room and saw that it was pitch black; perfect. I used my hand to feel around for the light switch that was next to my door. It was like being blind, what with my eyes shut and having to feel around for the lights. My grandpa was blind and it had been hell for me, growing up. Finally I grasped onto the plastic switch and gave it a flick upwards.

I opened my eyes and scanned the apartment; that's when I noticed the man sleeping on our couch.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, not just any scream, but a bloodcurdling, man-is-trying-to-rape-me scream. I ran into my room and grabbed my Vogue off the dressing table, rolling it up and preparing to swat whoever was sleeping on our sofa. I came back out and dropped the magazine on the floor when I saw who the man was.

"Emmett?! What the hell are you doing in my apartment?!" I yelled at him. It was hard to mistake him. He was lying on the sofa, his dark, curly hair in a mess, and his eyes half-closed, half-awake.

"Bella?" he asked, squinting at me. I ran forward and smacked him on the head.

"Of course it's me, who did you think it would be? Now, as I was saying, what the hell are you doing here?"

He was standing up by now, towering over me. I heard two voices shouting a string of profanities at me; they all centered on why I had waken them up this early. Rosalie was the first one I saw. She had come quickly out of her bedroom, brandishing _Italian_ Vogue. Now that I thought about it, that would have made a much better weapon. Alice came out second. I laughed when I saw her, because she was waving in her hands, a custom-made American Girl Doll that had been specially manufactured for her. Rosalie's eyes widened in acknowledgment of who was here. She ran her eyes up and down Emmett's body and then she blushed and turned her head away. Alice seemed more surprised. Her eyes became livid and she came striding towards us in a scarlet nightgown. It was only when she got closer did she too look Emmett up and down, then return to Rosalie, who was the deepest shade of red imaginable, and start whispering.

My eyes dropped and I threw up a bit in my mouth.

"EMMETT! PUT SOME DAMN CLOTHES ON!" he was standing but naked in the middle of my living room. He looked down and grinned.

"Like what you see Bella?" he asked, wriggling his eyebrows. He turned around and started smacking his but in my face. I whipped my head around to the sound of laughter. Rosalie was nearly crying on the floor, but Alice was simply sending death glares to Emmett.

"No, as a matter of fact I don't Emmett." I rolled my eyes and went to get him a pillow to cover up.

He took the pillow and covered his bits, and then started howling with laughter, "Take a good look, this is what a real man looks like." He grinned mischievously.

Rosalie had found Emmett's clothes on the floor next to the couch and had handed them to him. He was pulling on his pants, still smiling when Rosalie whispered something in his ear. He blushed and looked down at the tent that had now formed in his pants. I burst into hysterics and went to stand by Alice, who was still shooting hate beams out of her eyes.

I decided to have some fun with him, "Actually, Emmett, I think yours is a bit small for a real man."

At that one, I finally broke through Alice's mask and she started laughing uncontrollably; Rosalie too. I simply grinned to myself.

"Remind me to burn the couch and the pillows later on," I whispered to the girls. They nodded in agreement, big, fat grins plastered on their faces. I had almost forgotten about last night; almost.

"So Bella, you came home pretty late last night. How'd your date go?" Alice asked me suggestively.

At the mention of last night, all the emotions I had been trying to suppress came to the surface. I broke into tears and walked over to the kitchen table, resting my head down on it.

"That good huh?" Rosalie asked with a smile.

I looked up at them with bloodshot eyes and saw their expressions change from curiosity to worry instantly. Emmett came over to sit on my right; he started rubbing circles on my back, trying to comfort me. Rose and Alice sat across from me, their faces filled with nothing but concern.

We sat in silence until my sobbing had stopped and I had worked up enough strength to control the tremor in my voice.

I took a deep breath and started explaining. "Last night, after you guys left, Edward carried me back to his place. He said that he would sleep on the couch and I could sleep in his bed. He said that he was worried about me…"my voice trailed off and a single tear rolled down my cheek, I wiped it away with my sleeve and continued, "So then, after he set me down on the couch, he went into his bedroom to set up for me. But then, I heard him shouting and there was a woman's voice coming from the bedroom and…" I stopped. "And it was Tanya." My voice broke on her name and I started sobbing again.

I saw awareness, anger, pity, fury, resentment and concern flash across my friends faces in a matter of seconds.

"And then I fainted." I looked down at the tabletop, not wanting to see their reactions. I sat there, playing with my fingers until Emmett spoke up.

"I came back home and found her passed out on our couch. Edward was arguing with Tanya and Bella was unconscious. I saw what was going on, picked up Bella and started to walk towards the door but Edward," his name sent a wave of nausea through my body, "tried to grab me and told me to put Bella back down on his couch. I said no and stalked off, but he kept following me. He tried explaining things to me, but I didn't want to hear it," he turned to me and sighed, "I'm so sorry Bella, if I knew that Edward would have pulled something like this-" Alice cut him off.

"But why are you here then Emmett?" I looked over at Alice and tried to smile. I was grateful that she had tried to take some of the attention off of me.

"Oh. Well, it was about 11:30 when I got here. Rose was still up. I didn't tell her what happened, I thought you might want to yourself," he looked over at me, then back to Alice, "I set Bella down in her room and Rosalie suggested that I just stay here the night. I was perfectly comfortable with that, and I didn't really want to go back and face Edwa-I mean him."

"You were obviously very comfortable…"Alice muttered, just loud enough for Emmett to hear. He smirked, not embarrassed at all.

"Actually yes, I was very comfortable. I will have to do that again some time." He flashed his teeth and Alice rolled her eyes again at his childish behavior.

This whole time, Rosalie had been quiet. I directed my attention to her to see that she was on the verge of tears.

"Rose, what's the matter?" I asked tentatively. She frowned and her eyes began to water up. The expression on her beautiful face was utterly heartbreaking. She stood up and motioned me over to her bedroom.

"I'll be back in a minute," her voice wavered and broke. Emmett and Alice looked concerned, but she gave them a timid smile as she tugged on my hand.

She led me over to her bed and I plopped myself down on the edge. She closed her door and turned back to me. I gasped when I saw her face. Her eyes were bloodshot, her mascara running down her face, her cheeks read and blotchy and her lower lip quivering. I stood up and went to wrap my arms softly around her waist. She hugged me back then motioned for us to sit back down.

She didn't say anything so I began. "Rosalie, what's the matter?"

She looked up at me and tried to smile, but I could see that she was really hurt about something.

"Rose?" I asked, placing my hand on her shoulder. She took a deep breath and started talking.

"Bella, you know that we've known each other since we were born. I mean, you're like my sister. No, you _are_ my sister. So I've grown very protective of you over the years, and to see you crying like that this morning…"she trailed off and started sobbing again, "it killed me. You shouldn't have to cry because of what that asshole did to you. You deserve much, much better. And I'm tired of seeing you try so hard all the time. You're only human Bella; you don't have to be perfect." She smiled at me; it seemed the crying spell was over. "I just wanted you to know that."

I sat there, completely speechless. I knew that we were best friends, but to have your best friend cry because a guy hurt you. It showed just how much they truly cared. I just looked at her, trying to form coherent sentences; but I couldn't. She stood up and lugged me off the bed. I pulled her into a hug.

"I love you Bells," she whispered.

"Love you too Rose," I choked, fighting back tears.

"Well, are you going to get the McDonalds or should I?" she asked, smiling.

I chuckled, "You know me too well for your own good."

We walked out of the room with our arms linked. Alice came over and pulled me into a fierce embrace. Emmett hugged Rosalie, pulling her off the floor. She glanced over at me and smiled. I tried to smile back, but I couldn't; the Edward hole was not completely patched up yet.

"I'd be crying too, but I don't have waterproof mascara on right now." Alice jumped back and I ruffled her spiky hair with my hand. Of course she'd be concerned with something like that.

"Okay then, I'll go and get the McDonalds," I announced, as I headed out the door.

"Bella!" Alice hissed, "You can't go out there like that!" she gestured to what I was wearing.

"Al, I'm going to _McDonalds_, not _Volterra_. There's not dress code at a fast-food place." I tried to reason with her but she wasn't budging. I sighed. "Fine, I'll throw on some sweats and go through the drive-through, happy?" she winced at the harsh tone in my voice. I guess I sounded sharper than I had meant to. I stalked back into my room and put on my pair of comfiest sweats. I caught a glimpse of myself and groaned. I looked like I hadn't gotten any sleep! As I walked closer to inspect myself, I saw that I had very noticeable bags under my eyes; my skin was ashen and even paler than it usually was. My hair looked like a rats nest. I gave up and ran over to my bathroom. I decided that it wouldn't be so bad to freshen up a bit.

10 minutes later, I emerged. My hair was combed back into a sleek ponytail, the bags under my eyes much less noticeable and my skin looked much better after I had splashed some water on it. I had brushed my teeth as well.

Alice danced over and gave me an approving nod. Rosalie smiled and mouthed "much better."

Emmett laughed, "Thank goodness Bella, you looked like a walking corpse!"

I ignored him and walked out of the apartment and down to my car.

…

5 minutes later, I was at McDonalds. There was a pretty long line today at the drive-thru, so I put in one of my favorite CD's and started singing silently to the music.

_How can I decide what's right_

_When you're clouding up my mind_

_I can't win your losing fight_

_All the time_

_Nor can I ever own what's mine_

_When you're always taking sides_

_But you won't take away my pride_

_No not this time, not this time_

A horn blared at me and made me jump out of my seat. I could see that I was the next person in line; and I could also hear the huge chorus of beeping from behind me. I slammed my foot down on the peddle and moved forward. The boy at the drive-thru window was about 16 years old, with greasy, oily, acne-prone skin. He smiled warmly when he saw me, flashing a set of yellow teeth.

_Ew, gross._

"What can I get for you this morning?" he asked in what I think he considered a sexy voice. But it just crept me out.

"Um," I pulled out the list that Alice had given me with everyone's orders on it, "I'll have a Deluxe Breakfast, 2 Hotcakes and Sausage, an Egg McMuffin and a Biscuit." I tried to smile at him, but I couldn't; it was just too repulsive.

"Wow, that's a lot of food," the boy with skin problems told me, "I'd be happy to share it with you." He said, leaning closer. I recoiled in disgust.

"Um, thanks, but my boyfriend will probably eat half of it with me. So I'm covered," I told him with a mocking smile. He looked taken back and sulky. I didn't usually mean to be this rude to people, but for some reason this morning I had a very short temper.

I had already gotten the food and was paying him the money when I froze. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw a shiny, silver Volvo and a streak of bronze hair pull up next to me. Panicking, I handed the cashier a $50 note and drove away shouting, "Keep the change."

…

I watched Emmett scarf down his Deluxe Breakfast in utter disgust. He was shoving scrambled eggs in his mouth and chasing them down with orange juice every few seconds. I exchanged a glance with Alice and saw that she was repulsed by his behavior too. Meanwhile, Rosalie was watching him with adoration in her eyes; I laughed quietly to myself. What Rosalie found attractive was a very hilarious thing.

I was halfway through my stack of hotcakes when Katy Perry's Hot N Cold came playing out of nowhere.

It took a moment, not to mention Alice hissing, "Your phone," to realize that my phone was indeed ringing.

I picked up my phone and threw it on the table when I saw who was calling. My breathing stopped and my palms became sweaty.

_Edward Masen_

It was Rosalie whose hands flew out and grabbed my phone before I had even had the chance to breathe. She whipped it open and sneered into the phone, "What do you want _Masen_?" She was absolutely seething and I shrunk back into my chair a bit.

"No it's Rosalie you dumbass…Bella's sitting across from me…No actually I won't let you talk to her. Why? Because I don't want to," her eyes were narrowed into slits. Her eyes grew enraged and she started spitting into the phone; not literally of course. "Edward Masen, do you have any fucking idea how upset you've made my friend here? No, no…let me fucking finish! She was crying this morning, tears were streaming down her face!" he must have said something to set her off, "you just better hope and pray to god that I don't come over there and beat you shitless!" With that, she snapped the phone shut with one sharp, twist of her fingers and threw it on the table.

Alice and Emmett looked at here in complete awe.

She was glaring ahead, muttering curse words under her breath. I thought I could pick out, "ignorant, selfish, jackass, dickhead and son of a bitch."

"Now I know not to get on your bad side," I tried to joke, but she stared ahead, her face smooth and expressionless. Her eyes were so thin they looked like snake's eyes. Her lips were pursed and her jaw clenched.

Emmett tried to loosen her up a bit. "You are so sexy when you're pissed," he murmured to her. That got to her. She blushed and smiled from ear-to-ear.

"I just want to get away from here, just take a break and go somewhere for a few days to cool off," I said, trying to change the subject. "I don't think you'd like it much if I gave Edward a black eye."

Emmett shook his head not, but Rosalie said, "If that were the case, I'd gladly help you. But I wouldn't use my fist; a baseball bat would be much more effective for long term suffering." She smiled wickedly and I giggled.

I looked over at Alice whose eyes were alight with excitement. I became scared at whatever she had planned.

"Al?" I asked cautiously, "what do you think?"

"I think," she began slowly, probably building to the effect, "that we should go to Vegas."

Rosalie became animated and she ran over to Alice and hugged her, "Of course! That's brilliant Al, why didn't I think of that?"

I was still unconvinced about the idea. "Vegas? Really, I meant like go somewhere closer like my mom and dad's-"

"Don't be silly Bells!" Alice interrupted me, "this is a fantastic idea! We'll go to Vegas, play the slots, visit a few strip clubs and make sure you forget about Edward!" She was bouncing up and down in her chair, practically about to fall off the edge of it.

The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. I hadn't had a girl's weekend in ages, and Vegas sounded like a great place to go.

I sat there, not confirming the trip yet, trying to get Alice riled up. And it worked! Her eyes were wide in disbelief and her eyebrows pulled together in a little furrow. I decided I couldn't hold it out any longer, so I nodded yes and grinned at her.

"This is great! I'm going to go start looking online for a hotel! Oh this will be so much fun, we can leave tomorrow! And…wait a minute, what are we going to do about him?" Alice jabbed her finger at Emmett who was still eating his breakfast, but trying not to make it look like he was eavesdropping.

"I won't say anything!" he held up his hands, and then gave us a coy smirk, "but it'll cost you."

Alice started to open her mouth to object, but Rosalie cut her off.

"I'll take care of that…" Rosalie whispered, giving us a wink. She walked slowly over to Emmett, swaying her hips side-to-side and then bending down to whisper something in his ear. His eyes opened and he nodded furiously. His face became red when she nibbled on his ear, then covered his crotch area; but not before Alice and I saw what he was covering up. Rosalie stalked away with a triumphant smile on her face.

"Wow, what did you say?"

"I told him that if he didn't keep our secret, that there would be no sex until our 8th date…Then I whispered something in his ear that I'm too embarrassed to say to you girls so," she blushed, "we're good."

I smirked at Emmett who was running to the bathroom.

"Don't hesitate if you need to use all the cold water Emmett!" Alice yelled, giggling.

Indeed, I heard Emmett shriek when the cold water hit his body. We all started howling with laughter and wandered into our rooms. I took my phone with me and turned it on. I had one new text message.

_Bella,_

_Please, please let me explain,_

_I miss you._

_Edward_

My fingers became numb as I read his message; maybe I should call him. Maybe he was sorry.

No.

I will not let myself be dazzled by Edward any more. He will not break my heart again. I threw my phone into my duffle bag and started going through my closets.

This is going to be fun.

**A.N: Hope you guys liked this chapter. I decided to include 'Volterra' in the story, because I thought it was kinda a strange coincidence. There actually is a restaurant called Volterra in Seattle, look it up if you don't believe me! Stay with me Bella and Edward will get together soon enough!**

**As always, review, whatever and thanks for reading the story!**


	10. Thinking of you

**A.N: Well, here it is, Chapter 10. This is basically the chapter leading up to the Vegas Trip, bunch of random things, but I wanted to get something out there while I write bout Vegas. Enjoy!**

**And as always, review!**

Chapter 10 – Thinking of you

"I love you Bella," Edward murmured. I snuggled closer to him on the warm sand and pressed my lips to his cheek very gently.

I whispered, "I love you too."

He looked at me, his expression soft and tender and loving. He smiled at me and his lips came crashing down on mine with impressive force. I knotted my hands into his bronze hair that glowed in the sunlight. He wrapped his arms around my waist and laid me down slowly on the sand. We kept kissing. There was no other sound besides our breathing and the waves lapping against the sand and the rocks. Suddenly, he pulled back and smirked at me.

"Bella? Bella!" he yelled, but it was not his voice. It sounded female, and nasally. Not like his velvet smooth voice.

I snapped out of my day dream and looked around me. Oh, I was not on a beach with Edward, I was in my office. I worked as a journalist for _The Seattle Times_. I realized that it was Mrs. Cope, the secretary, who was calling my name.

"Y-yes?" I stuttered, still shocked from my bizarre day dream. I wasn't supposed to think, let alone dream about Edward.

Over the past week, he had sent flowers, chocolates and had even tried showing up at my apartment each day. Luckily, I wasn't home at the time, but Jasper told me that Rosalie had given him one hell of a beating. He had called and texted me numerous times, but I had ignored him. At first, it had hurt, I had even cried a few times because I felt bad for treating him this way. But Alice had a very simple remedy for the guilt; 3 bottles of wine, chocolate frosting, and Bridget Jones' Diary.

Ms. Cope waddled down the hallway towards my office and stopped in front of my desk. She was in her 50's, with bright red hair, and glasses. To be honest, when she walked she looked like a penguin. So every time I saw her, I had to purse my lips together to keep from laughing.

"Ms. Swan, Mr. Caius needs you to go Volterra again," she rolled her eyes, "apparently they've got a new chef working there and we need a 'current' review." She made air quotes around the word current.

This was my job, I was the Food critic. I smiled and started planning tonight's dinner out. I loved being the Food critic; I got a bunch of free meals, I got to take however many people I wanted and I always got treated with extra-special care. I nodded to her and she turned around, walking away from me.

"Wait!" I called after her. Ms. Cope drudgingly turned around and stared at me. "What time?"

"He said anytime between 7 and 8 o'clock should be fine. And he needs the review by Monday. He said he's only extending the deadline since you're going on vacation tomorrow."

"Okay, thank-you!" I told her. She didn't even look at me; she simply stalked away and threw her hand up in the air.

To be honest, I'd never really liked Shelly Cope.

I pulled out my iPhone and started texting the gang.

_To: Alice Brandon_

_Cc: Rosalie Hale, Emmett McCarty, Jasper Whitlock_

_Hey guys,_

_I have to go to Volterra tonight for the column._

_Interested?_

_-Bella_

I almost considered sending it to Edward. Almost. I hit send and put it on my desk. About 15 seconds later, I already had a reply. I chuckled quietly to myself. It was from Emmett…of course.

_Bella,_

_Do u not know me?_

_Hell yeah!_

_What time?_

_Emmett._

I quickly shot back to him:

_Emmett,_

_Um, be at our apt. around 7:00 ish?_

_Don't text me anymore, my boss is getting pissed._

_Bella._

Sure enough, Mr. Aro was looking at me with a disapproving look as he floated down the hall. He sort of creeped me out. He wasn't literally floating, but he was so thin and old and fragile, that he looked like he was floating as he walked towards me.

"Isabella my dear," he always addressed me as 'my dear', "can you please call La Bella Italia for me? Since you're reviewing Volterra tonight, I need you to make a reservation for Lauren to review it. Alright?" he didn't even wait for me to respond, "Good, make one for 7:00pm. Goodbye my dear." He turned around and floated back down the hallway.

Lauren was me second in command; my Beta. And I absolutely loathed her. She was my age, although looked much, much older. Her hair was slick and artificially platinum blonde, her eyes were a nasty grey color and her face was so thin it looked like she hadn't eaten for years.

"Bella," she sneered turning to me; she hated me too, "I have a lunch date in a few minutes, I need you to watch my phone calls."

"Ha ha, funny joke. I have my own calls to watch Lauren."

"Bella, don't make this difficult."

"I'm not making this difficult, in case you haven't figured it out, I'm your boss, not the other way around."

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and widened her eyes at me, "Whatever."

I slumped back in my chair and stared ahead. As much as I loved getting free food, I had to admit that my job was extremely boring. It was slow. Usually, the Newspaper industry is pretty busy, apart from the few slow days now and then. Like today.

I leaned forward and started drumming my fingers on my desk; short and staccato, while snapping my spearmint gum.

Could life get any more boring than this?

…

"Bella, Bella!" Alice squealed, flinging her arms around me as I stepped into the apartment. It was 5:00pm right now and I had just gotten home from work.

I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her spiky hair, "What's wrong Al?"

She jumped back and I finally caught a glimpse of her. I laughed when I saw the huge grin she was wearing from ear to ear. "Nothing's wrong! Everything's right!"

"What do you mean?" I asked her quizzically.

"Ugh! Don't just stand there, come, sit down on the couch and we'll talk." She yanked on my hand and pulled me over to the sofa. "Sit," she commanded. I sat down on the edge of the sofa and looked at her, gesturing with my hands for her to continue.

"Oh well let's see, first of all we're going to Volterra tonight! Do you have any idea how much I've been wanting to go there? Secondly, we're going to Vegas tomorrow! And thirdly, Jasper and I spent the entire day together! He had the day off and we stayed together all…day," she breathed and an expression of pure bliss came over her face. I smiled automatically, happy that she was happy. But, a tiny part of me was actually…jealous? I didn't know why though, that's the thing that frustrated me.

"Well, aren't you going to go get ready for dinner tonight?" I asked. Usually Alice was already dressed and ready to go out the door 2 hours before we had to leave, "don't you need a 'minimum of at least 2 hours to get ready'?" I repeated the words she had once told me.

She smirked and ruffled my hair, "Silly Bella, my clothes are already laid out on my bed. And I've already taken a shower. My hair's done, all I need to do is my makeup. Ooh, and a facial!"

"Alright then, well I'm not a freak of nature. I don't need 5 hours to get ready for dinner," I walked into the kitchen, "I'm making coffee, do you want any?"

"Yeah sure," she yelled, "be back in a moment."

I leaned against the counter and started to make the coffee. I was halfway through pouring in the beans when something caught my eye in my peripheral vision. White Roses were beautifully arranged in the crystal vase Rosalie had gotten for Christmas one year. They're absolutely gorgeous! I walked over to admire them, stroking my fingers across the delicate petals. I was bending down to smell them when a small card in the middle of the arrangement caught my eye.

_Bella,_

_You are such a wonderful friend,_

_Thank-you so much for being such a great person._

_I thought that I would inform you of the fact that_

_Edward will be coming along to tonight's dinner._

_Hope you don't scratch my eyes out,_

_Jasper_

_P.S: Alice told me it was okay FYI_

Oh no, oh NO! How can they be serious? Edward? Are you fucking kidding me?

"Alice!" I screamed, "Get your ass out here right this second!"

She ran out of her bedroom with a seaweed facial on her face and a mascara brush in one hand. She was standing in front of me wearing nothing more than a fluffy cotton robe. If I wasn't so pissed at her right now, I probably would have laughed my ass off.

"What? Bella what's wrong? Are you hurt?" she asked, worry and concern in her voice.

"No I'm not hurt, not physically anyways."

She looked at me and quizzically raised her eyebrows, "Then what the hell is the matter?"

I stalked over and picked the card out of the middle of the bouquet. I walked back to her and flung the card at her stomach. She fumbled around trying to catch it.

"I think you can answer that question for me!" I sneered at her.

She flipped up the card with unsteady fingers, looking absolutely terrified, she started to read it. I stood there with my arms crossed, tapping my foot on the ground impatiently. Her eyes widened significantly when she got towards the bottom of the card.

She looked up at me and edged back towards her bedroom door, gripping the walls for support while I followed after her. My eyes were narrowed into slits and my hands were so tightly balled into fists that my nails were digging into my palms.

"B-Bella, I'm so, so sorry, I-I just thought that m-maybe if you t-two got together and t-talked that maybe you c-could find out what really h-happened with Tanya and Ed-"

"Alice," I spat, "I told you that I don't want to hear it! No matter what you or Rose or Jasper or Emmett or even Edward say, I can never forgive him! I don't want to face him tonight!"

I saw that I was really scaring her, and I decided to back off and sit down on the couch. I shut my eyes and took deep breaths while trying to calm my system. Alice came over and timidly, carefully, placed her hand on my shoulder. I didn't show any aversion to her gesture, so she started rubbing it and then gently rested her head on it instead.

I took a deep breath. "Alice, I'm sorry that I blew up at you like that. It's just, I care about him so much, and for him to do that to me is just…" I trailed off as tears started to appear in my eyes. I blinked and one slowly rolled down my cheek. I slumped over and just started sobbing uncontrollably. Alice hugged me and started rubbing my arm, while whispering "sshh". I felt like a baby who needed to be comforted by her mother.

Finally, I seemed to have cried myself out, so I sat up and tried to give her a brave smile. She frowned and shook her head; she knew me better than that.

"Bella, listen. I know that what he did to you was absolutely horrible, but if you don't speak and sort everything out, then you won't be able to move past it and start dating."

I stared at her, unable to comprehend what she had just said, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you wake me up at night with your moaning and your sleep talking…and lately…"

"Lately what?"

She seemed to choose her words very carefully. "You've been, saying his name…a lot," she blushed and I sensed that there was something else to the story.

"Alice, what else?" I gulped. I knew that I talked in my sleep; my mother teased me about it all the time, but if I'd been saying Edward's name…

"Well, it wasn't really mumbling, it was more like…moaning or screaming," she hid her face to muffle the laughter, "one time I actually thought that he was in there with you and that you two were…you know."

I tried opening my mouth to speak, but all that came out was, "Shit."

Alice was in hysterics when I said that and she ran to her bedroom door, slamming it behind her. I could hear the springs of her bed as she collapsed with loud laughter.

"Stop laughing Alice, it's not that funny! Open up!" I yelled, pounding on her door.

"Are you kidding me Bella? It's absolutely bloody hilarious!" she unlocked the door and I saw that she had tears in her eyes.

"Alice," I begged her, pinning her against the wall. Her lips were pursed together. I waited until she has stopped laughing. "Just promise me that you didn't tell Rosalie or Jasper or Emmett." I saw her bite her lip and shut her eyes; trying to keep from laughing again. She shook her head and slipped out from under my arms.

"No. No, no, no, no, NO!" I blushed and ran into my bedroom, locking the door and flinging myself on the bed. "ALICE, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

My rage obviously amused her, as she continued laughing hysterically. I stood up, grabbed my towel and strode quickly into the bathroom. I glanced at the clock on the wall; it was already 6:00pm! How the hell did we talk for one hour?

I tugged on the handle of the shower so hard that it nearly fell off. When I stepped in, the water was scorching hot against my skin, but I honestly didn't care. I turned my back to the water and started my daily routine. I was trying to be fast, but the continuous stream of hot water couldn't be rushed; it soothed my system. It unknotted all of the kinks in my back that resulted from a tough day at work, sitting in a very stiff, uncomfortable chair.

After 15 minutes, I stepped out and hooked the towel around myself. My wet feet made noises against the tiled floor as I padded across to my bedroom. Luckily, the door was still locked (Alice had a key to my room) so I dried myself quickly, and sat down to start blow-drying my hair.

45 minutes later, I was completely ready. My hair was curled into an elegant half-up do, I had put on minimal make-up (much to Alice's dismay) and I was wearing the black dress and heels that I had planned to wear for my first date with Ed-

I stopped myself. It was not healthy to be thinking about him constantly, according to Rosalie anyways. So every time my mind wandered off, I had to literally stop it before I started thinking about Ed-I mean _him_ again.

I checked my watch. Okay, it said 7:00; Emmett and Jasper and _him_ were planning on meeting us at the apartment.

The door rang and my breathing stopped. It was like déjà vu; the boys ringing the door bell, Alice and Rosalie getting up and excitedly opening the door for them while compliments and greetings were being said by all. My palms became sweaty as I imagined him coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist.

I spun around - expecting to see him - but no one was there. My heart sank a little for some reason, and my throat started closing up.

_No Bella, no. _

I shook it off, stood up and smoothed out my dress. I looked at myself again in the mirror and decided that this was as good as it's going to get. I grabbed my coat and purse, and walked confidently out the door.

Immediately, my eyes scanned the room, looking for him. But, my eyes flew straight to Emmett. Had he always been so…big? He looked absolutely huge now; the muscles on his arm were definitely larger than I remember.

He laughed when he saw me eyeing them, "No Bella, I'm not on steroids."

I saw Jasper next. He was dressed in a grey jacket, a black, button down shirt and dark-wash jeans. Alice was standing by his side, gazing up at him with nothing but love and adoration. I felt another pang of jealousy when I saw Rosalie wrapped around Emmett as well. Before things could get any worse, Rosalie piped up.

"Where's you-know-who?" she said with a sneer. Things had not gotten better between her and him. In fact, if possible, it got worse. Every time he called the house, Rosalie would pick up and start swearing at him. The first time I thought it was pretty funny, but now, I sort of feel sorry for him.

"Well, Alice called and told me that Bella here," Jasper gestured to me, "didn't want him to come with."

Emmett chuckled, "I don't really mind, guys a miserable old man."

"Neither do I," Rosalie said.

"Wait, I understand Rose but, Emmett, I thought you were his best friend?"

"Well, to be honest Bella, he's been really depressed lately. Like, he doesn't get up for work anymore, whenever we're going out, he stays home and mopes. And he mumbles things, like people's names…" he shot me a sly look and I blushed.

I couldn't help feeling a little guilty; it was probably because of me that he was acting this way.

I took a chance, even though I probably knew the answer already, "Whose names?"

"Bella, you have to know someth-" Emmett opened his mouth to speak, but Alice interrupted him.

"Oh wow, look at the time. It's already 7:10! Let's get going shall we?" she ushered everybody out the door, and I shot her a strange look. She smiled at me beautifully, trying to conceal whatever she was hiding.

"Later," I muttered to Emmett. He nodded and opened the car door for me.

…

It was dark, very dark, and probably close to around 2:00 am…I think? Lately, I noticed, it has become a habit of mine to get absolutely wasted. Me and Rosalie had drunk the most, Alice was relatively sober, and Jasper hadn't touched a drop of alcohol (because we all remember what happened the last time). Emmett was Emmett. He had drunk a little less than me and Rosalie, and he was still completely sober. I'll have to ask him how he does it later on.

"Careful Bella," Emmett grabbed my shoulder and yanked me out of the way as I was about to bump into a lamp post. I laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

"Thanks Em."

"So, um, where are we going now?" Rosalie asked, leaning on Alice.

"We're going to get you girls safely home," Jasper told us. He always sounded very calm and serene.

"Alrighty then," I hiccupped. Rosalie looked over at me and we both burst into hysterics. God only knows why.

"Bella, try to control yourself. We're here at the car now, get in the backseat."

I slid into the back seat of his jeep and closed my eyes, leaning my head against the window. I was about to fall asleep when all too soon, we were home.

Emmett picked up Rosalie in his arms, Jasper tried to sling me over his shoulder, but I refused and carefully walked up the stairs. I was gripping the handrail for support so hard that I thought my hands would be stuck like that forever.

When we reached the apartment, I turned to Emmett and slurred, "Now, if you're going to sleep on the couch this time, try to have some clothes on. I don't want to burn the new slip covers we have." Everybody started laughing, even Emmett; nothing could faze him. They waved us goodbye and we stumbled into our apartment.

I got up, stretched my arms and wandered into my bedroom. As I caught sight of my bag of luggage, I realized something. In exactly 7 hours, we would be on a plane to Vegas.

"HEY GIRLS?" I yelled, "YOU REALIZE THAT WE HAVE TO LEAVE FOR THE AIRPORT IN 5 HOURS?"

"SHIT!" I heard Rosalie scream, I started chuckling to myself as I heard her rummaging through her closets, nearly breaking the doors off while she frantically tried to pack. "I HAVENT PACKED A FUCKING THING!" I was laughing even harder than before as I drifted off to sleep.

**AN: So, not my best chapter, lots of little fluff and stuff. But, I feel bad because I haven't updated in like a week. **

**We found out what Bella does for a living, and incase you wanted to know, Rose works at Sephora. Alice is a personal shopper at Nordstrom. Jazz and Em are Football coaches, and Edward works in a law firm. **

**VEGAS BABY! Lol, that's the name of the next chapter. I have it completely done, I just need to edit it and stuff. Make sure that I really deliver.**

**Please, I am DESPERATE for reviews. I mean, its nice to get like, any? But I would really like just a **_**little**_** bit more, if that's no too much to ask… =]**

**Thanks for reading as always **


	11. Vegas Baby!

**A.N: Finally! Vegas! Wooohoooo lol. So, this is a very long chapter, sorry about that, but I couldn't find a good place to cut it, so I just made it one HUGE chapter! Enjoy, and review! And don't worry, E&B will get together soon enough :)**

Chapter 11 – Vegas Baby!

"Wake up! Wake up!" Alice's sunny voice was chirping throughout the apartment.

"Got to hell," I mumbled to myself.

"Come ON! Wake up!" Alice was filling the entire apartment with her obnoxious voice. I rolled over slowly and looked at my glowing alarm clock. 6:30 it read.

"ALICE! IT'S 6 BLOODY THRITY IN THE MORNING! " I turned over and buried my face into my pillow.

Alice flung open my door and put her hands on her hips. She smiled. "Now Bella, Rosalie is threatening to kill me with her curling iron if I don't leave her alone. What are you going to do?" she scoffed, "I'll wake up whoever won't kill me."

I groaned and pulled a pillow over my head, rolling onto my back. Then I smiled wickedly. "Alice, I will not let you take me shopping for another year!" I waited for her response.

Her eyes grew wide and she ran out of my doorway. "Rosalie! Rosalie! Open the door, we have to leave for the airport in a half hour!" her tiny fists were pounding on her door, I could only imagine what Rosalie was thinking.

I rolled back over and smiled victoriously. I breathed out deeply and then something Alice said caught my attention. My eyes snapped open. Half an hour? Until we leave?

"Alice, did you say half an hour?"

"I sure did Bella, now come on get up!"

"UGH!" I grunted, swinging my feet over the side of the bed and standing up so quickly that I got a head rush. I threw my bed together, picked up some random items of clothing that were on the floor, chucked them in my hamper, and hurried to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready.

I looked in the mirror and sighed a breath of relief. My hair was manageable, my skin looked alright but my eyes, oh hell my eyes, looked absolutely ghastly! I had forgotten to take off my makeup last night, so the mascara I had put on was now smeared and flaky under my eyes. I looked down at my outfit and saw that I was still wearing my fancy black dress. Panicking, I removed my makeup, pulled my hair back into a ponytail, brushed my teeth fiercely as I was trying to remove all traces of pasta, and splashed some cold water on my face.

I hurried out of my bathroom and yanked on the jeans I had planned to wear on the plane, then I threw on a simple cotton t-shirt. As I was about to run out of the door, I saw my face and groaned. I needed makeup. So, I sat down at my vanity and quickly started fluffing on some light foundation and mascara. When I was decent, I bounded out of my bedroom with my suitcase in hand, and into the living room where Rosalie was sitting with an ice pack on her forehead.

I wheeled my suitcase over to the door and went over to Alice to help her make breakfast.

"Good morning sunshine, and how are we today?" she asked pleasantly, I grunted and reached into the refrigerator to get some milk. When I resurfaced, I saw Alice trying to make eggs. She had a frustrated expression on her face and I saw that she was picking egg shell pieces out of the bowl, with absolutely no luck whatsoever.

"Oh sod it," she dumped the dishes into the sink and started cleaning up, "we'll just eat breakfast at the airport."

"At least let me make something to drink, what do you want Rose?"

"Ugh," she moaned, "just give me some orange juice or whatever." I saw her flop back on the couch and close her eyes.

I put the milk back and grabbed the orange juice instead. "What's wrong with her?" I whispered to Alice.

"When she heard that there was only 30 minutes before we have to leave, she stood up so quickly that she bumped her head on her closet door…which she stupidly left open," she muttered.

I stifled a laugh and took out 3 glasses from the cupboard above the sink. I was pouring the orange juice into them when Rosalie came up behind me and reached into the medicine cabinet. I saw her take two Advil pills and then change her mind and take 4.

"Rosalie!" I scoffed disapprovingly, "you're only supposed to take a maximum of 2! You'll be loopy if you take four of them."

She looked at me and cocked her head to the side, "To be honest Bella, I know you're trying to help me but I don't give a shit what the bottle says." She slammed the cupboard and walked back over to the T.V, switching on the Today Show.

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Alice mumbled. I laughed and Rosalie whipped her head around like a cobra. I stopped laughing and finished pouring the juice. I tried picking up 3 glasses, but I was sure that with my clumsy nature, I'd probably break all of them.

"Alice, could you take yours?" I pointed to her glass that was still on the granite countertop. She nodded and grabbed herself the chocolate teddy grahams before coming over and plopping herself down on the couch next to Rose.

"Here," I handed the glass to her.

"Thanks Bella, sorry I snapped at you before, I'm just not feeling well." She genuinely did look pale. When she saw me studying her, she tried to give me a smile, but I wasn't buying it.

"Rose," I began hesitantly, "if you want to stay home, I'm sure that we can, if you're not feeling well we can-"

She put her hand over my mouth, "No, I'm fine really, it's probably just the alcohol from last night. By the way, thanks for taking us. I had a great time."

"Yeah, thanks Bells, we owe you one."

I shook my head, "The newspaper paid for it, I just thought we could all use a good night out. " I laughed when I remembered what happened last night. After we had left the restaurant, Alice suggested we go to a bar and dance off all the calories. We had reluctantly agreed and had left the bar completely drunk. But not before about half of the guys there had decided to feel me up. I shuddered.

"Well you were wrong," Rose giggled, "I feel like crap."

We laughed together and then fell into the familiar routine of watching Kathie Lee and Hoda talk about the most interesting topics.

"I think," Rose said, sipping her juice, "that the SNL version of this is much better."

"Yeah it is…oh shit. Guys, finish your orange juice and grab your stuff, its 7:00 am now!" I watched in amazement as she grabbed all 3 of our glasses and carried them over to the sink, washing them and then placing them carefully in the drying rack.

"Alright fine...Achoo!" Rosalie sneezed and ran into her room, reappearing seconds later with her $10,000 Louis Vuitton suitcase and vanity case. It was absolutely huge!

"Rose, you realize we're going for 4 days, not 4 weeks?" I giggled at the sight of her dragging 2 other suitcases out of her room.

"Well, you never know where we're going to end up."

I realized then that Alice was much worse than Rosalie. She was standing by the door with 5 Burberry suitcases, not to mention a garment bag. She didn't look ashamed as I raised my eyebrows at her monstrous suitcases. She smiled pleasantly and beckoned for us to walk out the door. I felt very inferior with my one tiny, Kohl's suitcase. But, I didn't spend my money on trivial things like suitcases, or shoes, or designer clothes, or clothes in general.

"Alright let's go, let's go! The taxis are waiting downstairs for us! Come on Bella, haul ass!"

"Wait, taxis?" I said, stressing the "_is"_.

"Yeah, one for us and one for our luggage," she said matter-of-factly.

I rolled my eyes and wheeled my tiny suitcase out the door. I ran down to the elevator and kept it open while Alice and Rose made multiple trips for all of their suitcases. Miraculously, we all fit inside the elevator and it started descending, floor by floor.

I couldn't contain the mounting anticipation I was feeling in the pit of my stomach. We were going to Vegas! I had never been there before so I was extremely excited about the trip. I glanced over at Rose and Alice who were wearing the same expressions I was. Rose even looked a little less pale and was getting her color back.

Finally, we got out at the bottom floor. There was a man waiting there with a hotel-like cart. His eyes widened when he caught a glance of tiny little Alice dragging her suitcases behind her.

"Now," she told the guy, pointing to the suitcases, "I need you to put all of these on the cart and wheel them down the ramp for me alright?"

The man looked at her and shook his head, "Erm I don't fink I can do that ma'am." He said it in a very cockney English accent, and I stifled a laugh.

"Let me say this again," she wandered over to him, swaying her hips a little more than necessary, " I need you to put all of these on the cart and wheel them down the ramp for me, can you do that for me? Please?" she batted her eyelashes and stuck out her lower lip.

He coughed and stuttered, looking completely flourished, "Sure, anyfink for you ma'am." He nodded and started to lift the suitcases onto the cart. It was obviously a struggle for him as his face was turning red. Alice sharply exhaled and picked up her suitcases with no difficulty at all, practically throwing them on the cart.

I walked over to our mail slot and started picking through the letters and various bills we had received. There were our monthly Visa bills, the gas bill, electric bill, the Comcast bill, coupon books, the new Nordstrom catalogue, and the new issues of Elle, Shape, InStyle and Vogue Magazine. I shoved them all into my bag and wandered back over to where Rosalie was standing, tapping her shoes on the marble floor and filing her already perfect nails.

I forgot to mention, we live in quite a swanky apartment building. It's got gorgeous Italian Marble floors, twinkly lights, its own laundry service, a lobby that looks more like one of a glamorous hotel, a pool, tennis courts and a Buffet-style restaurant. When we were apartment hunting together, Rosalie had insisted that we live here. It's quite expensive, but it's not like we can't afford it, especially when there's 3 people sharing the apartment.

"This man is taking such a long time," she muttered, "It's actually quite sad that Alice has more upper body strength than him." She scoffed and got back to filing her nails.

"Alright, we're good to go." Alice was standing with her hands on her hips, while the man was sitting on a nearby bench, practically out of breath.

"Thanks, you were a real help. Now could you wheel this down to the two taxis waiting outside?" she asked sweetly.

He held up a finger and was wheezing, "Hold on, give me a minute ma'am."

"Um, hello? We have to be at the bloody airport in 30 minutes! God, it wouldn't kill you to go to the gym once in a while!" she threw up her hands in frustration and started wheeling the cart out the double doors herself.

We walked out the doors and I immediately wished I was back inside. The wind was whipping against my cheeks and biting my ears. I looked down at my outfit and instantly regretted not dressing warmer. I glanced at Rosalie. She was practically turning blue! The short sweater dress she had on, along with tights, boots and a thin coat, were not helping at all.

"Shit it's cold!" Rosalie yelled, loud enough that several businessman turned our way and stared at us with strange expressions. "What the hell are you looking at?"

"You!" one of the men shouted. A few people laughed and Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"Just get in the bloody car, I'm freezing my ass off!" she shivered and stepped in front of us, sliding along the seat and sighing when the warm air hit her face.

"Now, I need all of these suitcases in _your _taxi, my friends are going to ride in the other one. I'm going to ride with you to make sure that you don't make off with all of the expensive luggage," I saw Alice explaining to the other taxi driver. He was middle aged with a scruffy beard and yellowing teeth. I looked over at the other cab driver and smiled in relief. He was in his 20's with black hair and tan skin. He was quite handsome actually, but my standards of what was handsome had been raised.

Alice was climbing into the passenger seat of the other taxi, she waved goodbye to us, with a slightly wistful expression on her face. I climbed into the passenger side and the cab driver smiled warmly at me.

"Where to?" he leaned across to me and spoke with unnecessary closeness. I recoiled and told him the Seattle International Airport. He nodded; looking slightly discouraged and started driving down the road.

I put in my earphones and turned on _Chasing Cars_ by Snow Patrol. I leaned back and stared out the window, watching the buildings go by. The song started and I closed my eyes, letting the familiar melody lull me to sleep.

…

"Excuse me? Miss Swan? Miss Swan!" I felt someone shaking my arm.

"What?" I snapped, opening my eyes. I looked over and realized that I had just yelled at the taxi driver.

"Miss Swan, we have arrived at the Seattle International Airport. If you don't mind, I have other business as well. So," he gestured to the door, "your blond friend has already paid me. Your luggage is being unloaded. Goodbye." He said it rather shortly. I muttered a farewell and stepped out into the blistering cold.

"Fuck," I said quietly as I saw that a few flakes of snow were slowly starting to drift towards the earth.

"Bella!" I could barely see Alice over the absolutely huge mountain of suitcases on the luggage cart, I saw Rosalie also had a cart and I could just about make out the top of her head. "Let's go, we have to get checked in, our plane leaves in an hour and a half. Move!" Alice scolded me. I quickly grabbed my cart and started pushing it towards the doors of the Airport.

As soon as we entered the doors, I was hit by a wave of hot air. The relief was instantaneous. It was like water to a man who had been stranded in the desert, air to somebody who had been underwater for 10 minutes, or chocolate cake to a fat person who'd been on a diet.

"This way!" The pile of luggage told us. I followed it to an American Airlines check-in desk.

"Hello," the blond lady behind the counter said to us, "how many are you flying with?" she glanced down at our luggage as she said this.

"3" Alice replied. The lady looked at her skeptically, and then rolled her eyes. While she was looking for our tickets, Rosalie stuck her tongue out at her and I started laughing. The woman's head snapped up and she met my eyes with a dark glare. I immediately shut up and looked away, embarrassed.

We started unloading the suitcases off of the cart and putting them onto the conveyer belt thingy. All in all, we had 9 suitcases. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw how much extra Alice and Rosalie would have to pay for their suitcases. Thankfully, I had stayed to the maximum 2 bag rule, and my bag wasn't over weight restrictions so I was covered.

We walked away from the desk and felt the atmosphere lift considerably. Our bags were gone, and in about an hour we would be on a plane to go unwind in Las Vegas. At least, we would be if the snow doesn't get worse.

"All right then, let's go and get something to eat then shall we?" Alice asked.

In answer to her question, my stomach growled and we erupted into hysterics.

It was about 15 minutes after we had got through security that we finally got into the "real" airport, as Rosalie called it. There weren't really any shops that interested me, except Borders and Duty Free of course. But, there were a lot of restaurants. Every time I came through here, I would always go to The Egg Harbor Café which was by far the best restaurant here.

"Alright," I said, steering my friends in the right direction, "let's go grab a bite at the Egg Harbor Café yeah?"

They nodded in agreement and we walked towards the Café. It wasn't really busy inside; most people didn't have enough time to eat. The only people inside were the waiters (obviously), us, a small family and a stiff-looking businessman on his laptop. The kind hostess took us to a table in the back, sat us down, and gave us some menus.

It was a nice atmosphere. The walls were painted in a burgundy red, there were beige colored booths, and of course, chicken posters and memorabilia everywhere you looked.

"Oh god, I'm going to gain five pounds by eating anything on this menu!" Rosalie moaned. I shot her a dirty look. First of all, she never gained weight, no matter how much she ate. And secondly, it listed all the calories and fat content to the right of each menu item.

"I think I'll have something sweet, I'm running dangerously low on sugar levels," Alice said, tucking a piece of short, black hair behind her ear. I stifled a giggle, Alice didn't exactly need sugar to be awake; it was part of her genetic makeup.

Just as I was looking at the Egg-themed menu items, a handsome waiter came over to our table. His eyes widened considerably as he took in Rosalie and Alice; and then stared about 8 inches south of their faces. I scoffed in disgust as he stood there, ogling them.

"Excuse me? If you're done staring at my friends boobs, we'd like to order now," I told him, smiling. Alice and Rosalie burst into fits of laughter. The waiter blinked a few times, then blushed and muttered "sorry."

"M-My name is um…Hugh, yes Hugh. What can I um…get for you?" it came out as a very unsure question. I saw the sly look on Rosalie and Alice's face and guessed that they were going to have some fun with him.

Rose went first, touching his arm and saying seductively, "I'll have the 3 cheese omelet, and make sure it's really hot. Can you ask the chef to make it with really big, round eggs?" she batted her eyelashes at him.

He gulped and started sweating, "Um…sure?"

Alice was next, "And can I please have the same as her? We have the same taste in everything," she smiled at him and I could see that he was doing his best to stand there normally.

"Yeah, 2 hot cheese omelets made with big, round eggs," he gulped and licked his lips.

"I'll just have a bagel," I told him, handing the menus over.

He muttered something and then turned around and strode back into the kitchen.

I was pursing my lips together so hard it actually hurt. I looked up from the table and saw that Rose and Alice were wearing similar expressions to mine. I couldn't contain it any longer; I started laughing like I had before and they joined in with me.

"Okay," I began, wiping the tears from my eyes, "what's the game plan when we get to Vegas?"

"How about we check-in first, and then we can go clubbing and play the slots!" Alice was clapping her hands together excitedly.

"Sure, but then tomorrow I want to go to a strip club. The only naked man I've seen lately is Emmett," she said dismissively. I froze; did she just say what I thought she said?

"Rosalie, have you and Emmett…?" I trailed off and looked into her eyes. She sat there, furrowing her eyebrows together. When she got what I said, she started shaking her head, grinning to herself.

"No, my god Bella, we've only been on like 3 dates! And two of them were with my friends…I'm not even sure he likes me like that."

I waited for her to start laughing, or smiling to show that she was joking, but she didn't. And suddenly it dawned on me that she thought this was true.

"Rose, I can see it in his eyes. He _really_ likes you," I stressed the word really to show I meant it. For Rosalie to doubt herself for one minute was absolutely crazy. "Rose, just because he doesn't have sex with you on the first date doesn't mean he doesn't like you. It means that he's respectful of you and doesn't need sex to know if you're worthy or not."

Rose sniffed a bit and looked up at me, "Thanks Bells, you always know what to say." She smiled at me shyly as the waiter appeared with our food. _That was fast_, I thought.

"Dig in ladies; we've got a plane to catch in…holy crap 30 minutes!" Alice said nervously. We started scoffing down our food. I guess that the waiter had taken Rose and Alice's orders seriously, as they were now chasing down their omelets with ice-cold water.

We emerged 10 minutes later, clutching onto our bags for dear life as we ran towards the gate.

"Guys, slow down!" Rosalie was panting, "My fucking feet hurt like you wouldn't believe!"

"That's what you get for wearing 4 inch stilettos on an airplane!" Alice yelled back. Rose shot her a death glare, and Alice turned back, running gracefully like an Olympic gold medalist in her bright pink pumas.

Finally, we arrived at the gate, panting and out of breath. Of course, with my luck, the gate was on the other side of the airport, at least a 15 minute walk. But, since we ran, we had made it just in time. Rosalie was now sitting in a chair by the glass windows and drinking water. Alice was pacing up and down, occasionally looking at the announcements board. The snow wasn't coming down very hard, it was very light outside and warm so none of the flakes stuck together on the ground.

"Calling all passengers on American Airlines flight number 1050 to Las Vegas, we are now boarding First and Club. Please, only First and Club world," a man called from behind the counter.

"It's about frickin time," Rosalie muttered to me. We made our way to the counter with about 7 other people. A flight attendant took my ticket and directed me to a hallway that lead to the plane. She smiled warmly at me and looked frightened when I flashed my teeth at her, smiling much bigger than necessary.

"Ready girls?" I asked. Their eyes were alight with excitement as we strode down the hallway together.

…

"Oh."

"My."

"God." I said, finishing Rose's and Alice's sentences.

We had just entered The Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and I felt like I wanted to cry. Words cannot describe how absolutely stunning just the lobby is! It's light and open, with marble floors, columns, and a gorgeous ceiling made of wood that criss-crossed and made gorgeous squares on it. This is one of the most amazing things about the hotel; a part of the ceiling is actually made of glass! There's bright, multi-colored glass that is fashioned into the shape of flowers, and it's on the ceiling! There are small, recessed lights that are stuck in the ceiling that only add to the ambience here. It's such a romantic place. I sigh and look around some more. On the other side of the lobby, I can see a small fountain surrounded by flowers. I'm about to go investigate some more when I feel someone pinch me.

"Ouch!" I snap. I twist around to find Rosalie, eyes wide with wonder and awe; like a kid in a candy store. "What the hell was that for?"

"I needed to make sure I wasn't dreaming, and I wasn't going to pinch myself." She said this in a absentminded, drunken way. I giggled and gave her a playful pinch. But she didn't budge. She just wandered around aimlessly, admiring the beauty of the lobby.

"Am I in heaven?" I asked Alice. She looked very stern and embarrassed as people shot us amused glances.

"No Bella, but your close to it. Now, please can you two try not to look like deer in the headlights? I have a very good reputation here and I'd appreciate if you wouldn't fuck it up. Understood?" Rosalie and I nodded. She breathed a sigh of relief and led us over to the check-in desk.

A middle aged woman looked up from the sleek computer she was typing on, and stared at Alice's face. She smiled a kind, genuinely warm smile, "Ms. Brandon, how absolutely wonderful to see you again."

"And you too Karen, these are my friends Isabella and Rosalie," she gestured to us and continued, "We have a room booked here." She grinned.

"Lovely to meet you Rosalie and Isabella."

"Actually, I prefer Bella," I told her. Alice shot me a frustrated look and I regretted correcting Karen instantly, but she just smiled kindly.

"Bella it is then. Aha! I have your reservation right here: The 2-Bedroom Penthouse Suite. It's on the 35th floor facing the fountain and the strip. Are you all right with that?"

Rose and I were literally squealing with delight, Alice merely nodded and said coolly, "That will do."

Karen nodded and snapped her fingers, "Boys!" she yelled as 2 young men appeared out of the back room, dressed in a bellhop uniform. "Will you please take these young ladies' luggage up to their room?"

They nodded, eyeing all 3 of us appreciatively. The handsomer of the two caught my eye and winked. I blushed and looked away. Did I look different here than I did back in Seattle?

"Thank-you boys," Alice said serenely. It amazed me how calm and collected she was when I was giggling and squealing like a little school girl.

"Right, if you'll follow me then. Grant already loaded your things onto the cart," he gestured to 2 shining, golden carts standing next to a man who was also dressed as a bellhop.

"Enjoy your stay!" Karen shouted as we turned to depart and follow the men up to our room.

"So, what are you guys here for?" the handsomer one asked. I squinted at his nametag and saw that his name was James.

"Well James, we're actually just here for some fun. I've been worked to the bone by my boss, and my ex is an asshole." He looked at me, confused. I blushed and realized that I'd just told everything to a stranger I had just met. To my surprise, he laughed!

"It's alright Miss…so you haven't got a boyfriend?" he asked slowly, carefully.

"Um," I looked at Rose and Alice, who were giving me encouraging looks, "actually, I have. It's just that my ex has been a pain lately, calling me every day and all that shit." I finished lamely, lying. He looked utterly deflated, I felt bad. But, to be honest, somebody else was on my mind…

_Stop it Bella!_

I dared a glance at Rose and Alice; they were shaking their heads in disappointment. I turned stiffly back to the front of the elevator, as I shifted uncomfortably in the small, confined space.

_33, 34…35! Yes, thank the lord! Halle-damn-lujah we're here! _

The doors opened with a slight _ping! _and we all filed out, letting James and the other bellhop go first.

"Bella," Rose hissed, grabbing my arm, "why the hell would you turn down someone like that? We're here in Vegas for you to get over him!"

My stomach dropped and I whispered back to her. "I'm just really not ready for that yet. Maybe later, after I don't have 9 hours of cabin on me." She smiled, so I knew I was forgiven.

The boys led us to our room, and I couldn't help but stop and admire the fantastic view from all the way up here. The entire side of the hallway was made of glass, and it was already dark outside, which made Vegas stand out even more. Up on the 35th floor, you could see _everything_. The spectacular fountain was in the middle of one of its shows, with water shooting out of nozzles on the sides. There was colored light hidden beneath the water that only added to the effect. I could also see the famed Vegas strip. Hotels lined either side of it, and cars sped up and down the road, making electric bright colors stand out against the black night sky. It was absolutely breathtaking.

"Right then, here we are ladies." He handed us each a hotel card, and then slowly opened the door to our suite.

It was a thousand times better than I thought it would be. The walls were a deep, rich caramel with several pictures hanging on them. Dark, hardwood floors ran throughout the place. The back wall was made of glass too, giving us a gorgeous view of the mountains. As I walked in, to my right was a small powder room, and to my left was a wet bar-fully stocked. I smiled and walked further into the apartment. I noticed that there was a mahogany dining table and a separate living room. I ran my fingers along the couch. It was purple and made of velvet. A 50 inch LCD HDTV flat screen was mounted on the wall. I turned to the right and my breath caught. There, in the middle of the room, was the biggest bed I had ever seen! It was at least 2 times as big as a queen sized bed. I ran over and jumped into the cushy decorative pillows. I felt like Princess Mia in the Princess Diaries 2! I was staring at the ceiling, when I saw something out of my peripheral vision; a massive walk-in closet. I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and walked towards the closet, completely and utterly in sheer awe. Tall, cherry cabinets lined either side of the closet. I ran my fingers along them, marveling at the silky-smooth surface. At the opposite end of the entrance was a long vanity counter, with glass countertops. On either side of it, massive mirrors ran from the ceiling to the ground. I squealed and ran as fast as I could back to Rosalie and Alice. Rosalie was in the same daze that I was, whereas Alice was screaming, "I call the left side of the bed!"

I blinked several times and pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. At any moment, I could wake up and be stuck at home, lying in bed in my sweats, and find out I was just dreaming.

While I was daydreaming, Rosalie had walked into the other bedroom.

"HOLY SHIT!" I heard her yell. I knew she had found the closet.

I drifted over to Alice, riding some jittery high, and took a deep breath, trying to compose myself before I spoke. "Alice, what are we going to do first?"

She opened her eyes and sat up on the edge of the bed, smiling wickedly. "First of all, we're going to get all dressed up and pretty. Then we're going to go night-clubbing out on the strip."

"What?" Rose screeched, "I thought the whole flippin point of coming to Vegas was to go to strip clubs and casinos!"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist Rosalie, we have 4 nights here. We don't need to do everything in one night! Space it out a little."

"Fine," she grunted, kicking off her stilettos, "so what are we going to do now?"

"Now," Alice grinned maliciously, "we're going to give Bella a makeover."

I froze.

…

"NO! NO, ALICE GET AWAY FROM ME! ROSALIE, HELP ME!" I screamed. As soon as Alice had said they were going to give me a makeover, I had run to the other bedroom and started cowering in the corner like a baby.

"Bella," she said calmly, coming at me with a curling iron and blow-dryer, "we have to be at the club in an hour. Be reasonable, Rose and I are going to give you a simple makeover that will make you look fabulous and sexy." She smiled sweetly at me, sickly sweet. I gulped and nodded cautiously, knowing full well that there was no way I could change her mind. Once she was set, she always followed through.

She grinned triumphantly, "Good, now Rose," she launched herself on me and pinned me down on the bed, my eyes growing wide in fear, "bring in the wax!"

"No, absolutely not!" I screamed, thrashing against her tight and inescapable hold. She glared down at me with that sickly-sweet smile again.

"Bella, hon, I love you to death and beyond but honestly…"she glanced down at my legs, "you _need_ to wax them! You're not a gorilla; you need to have hairless, smooth legs! No man is going to find you appealing if you're covered in a fur coat."

"What man are you thinking of?" I sneered at her.

She raised her eyebrow at me, "Men, lot's of gorgeous, sexy men." I burst out into laughter and she narrowed her eyes at me, "I'm serious."

I stopped laughing as soon as I saw Rosalie coming through the door with an apologetic expression on her beautiful face. I dropped my gaze to see what she was holding; a pot of _Miracle Wax_. In her other hand, she was holding linen strips and a towel.

"Wha…what's the towel for?"

"It's for you to bite on," Alice grinned at me.

"No!" I started sobbing as Rosalie slathered the hot, sticky wax onto my left leg. I tensed up when she laid on the linen strip.

"Sorry about this Bella," she replaced Alice as the little pixie skipped over to the foot of the bed.

"I really hate you Alice." I said sternly.

"I love you too Bella," she rolled her eyes and took a hold of the linen.

"1…2…"

"WAIT!" I interrupted, pushing Rosalie off of me, "please, please, just tell me…how much is it going to hurt? And be honest!"

She seemed to hesitate, "The truth?"

I nodded, biting on my lower lip. Rosalie handed me the towel and ran to the nearest chair, covering her ears.

"Only a whole lot," and before I had time to object, she ripped it off without any warning.

"ARGH! WHAT THE HELL ALICE? WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME? DO YOU WANT TO HURT ME?" I yelled as tears involuntarily started streaming down my face.

She showed no sympathy whatsoever, "Shhhhh! There are other people in this hotel! Please Bella, stop being such a god damn baby! I get this done every 2 weeks and I don't feel it at all."

I glanced over at Rosalie who was on the hotel phone, whispering. "No…alright…no, I didn't tell her yet…just call me before you get here alright? Okay, bye."

"Rosalie, who was that?" I asked. She looked up at me and smiled at me with an oh-too-innocent expression. My eyes narrowed into slits.

"Nothing, I was ordering some room service for later tonight. You know, after we've partied a bit." Her voice quavered towards the end and I became instantly suspicious.

"Rosalie, if you and Alice are planning something for me-"

"Oh look at that! We haven't done your other leg! Now, shut up and lay back," she said quickly. As she was slathering on the wax, I saw her exchange a frantic expression with Rosalie; I wasn't sure if I was supposed to see it.

"Relax Bella, now 1…2…3!"

…

I felt terrible. Completely and utterly terrible. This was not what Vegas was supposed to be like. You were supposed to play the slots and have a nice night clubbing. I, on the other hand, had constantly been ground on all night and I was absolutely sick of it. My stomach was nauseous and I just wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep. This was not what I had in mind.

"Come on baby, one more dance!" a man was begging me.

"No, I need to go home…now! Rosalie, Alice?" I yelled, but they obviously didn't hear me. And I couldn't blame them. It was so loud in this club. I was clutching my stomach; I felt like I was going to be sick. I hadn't had that many drinks…oh sod it, I was completely lying to myself. I had let a few men buy me drinks and I was instantly regretting it.

I stumbled off of the dance floor and reached for my cell phone with shaking fingers. I dialed Rosalie's number first; she was more likely to pick up. It went straight to voicemail. _Hello it's Rosalie Hale. Sorry I am not available to talk right now, but if you leave your name, number, and a brief message, I will get back to you as soon as I can. Have a good day!_ I hung up and turned to slump my head down on the bar.

"Do you want anything sweetheart?" a man asked me. I lazily picked my hair up off the bar and stared at him from under my lashes. He was quite cute actually; brown hair, blue eyes and a young, boyish face.

"Please, just water."

"Alright then, excuse me, bartender? Could you get this young lady a glass of water?"

"Thanks," I muttered as the bartender passed me my water. I was about to take a sip when somebody yelled, "Oi! You with the brown hair at the bar!" I whipped my head around, looking for the person who had shouted for me, but everybody was dancing.

I turned back around and groaned. I could swear I saw the man pulling his hand away from my glass. He quickly tried to distract me. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"I'm just so pissed right now…and I can't find my friends," I trailed off and scanned the bar one last time before giving up and taking a sip of my water. I scrunched up my face. It tasted a little…tart.

"I'm sorry to hear that, I'm Jett by the way," he held out his hand and gave me a warm smile. I hesitantly reached out my hand to shake it, "Bella."

"So Bella, where about do you live?"

"Actually, I'm here on a vacation with my girlfriends. I'm staying at the Beragio, Belgragio, Bempagio?" I couldn't remember where I was staying for god's sake! I was becoming more tired by the minute, and I felt my eyelids slowly coming down over my eyes.

"The Bellagio?" he suggested.

"Yes!" I raised my hand up in the air, eureka style, and it came smack down on the table. I finished my drink and stood up. Walking out the door, I realized something.

"Do you know where that is by chance?" I asked embarrassed.

Jett laughed and walked over to me, putting his arm around my shoulder. I shifted uncomfortably and fell forward a bit when we started walking. "I'll walk you back Bella. And what a coincidence, I'm staying at the Bellagio too!" he finished enthusiastically.

My eyes started fluttering and it became difficult to walk straight and steady. Suddenly, I had a pounding headache and a terrible heartburn.

"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick!" I tried to shift myself out of his grip, but he held on tighter.

"Are you feeling okay Bella?" he asked, touching my bottom lip with his finger.

"No, I feel horrible, like my insides are tearing up. And I've got a headache, and I can barely walk and…"

"Good," he smirked, "that means it's working."

"What?" I was confused, and then the truth dawned on me. The drink. He was the one who had suggested it to me, and while my back was turned, he must have put something in it. I started shoving against him, clawing his chest and kicking him, but he grabbed my wrist fiercely and held my hands behind my back. I felt something sharp jab against my back and my heartbeat increased.

"Now Bella, you wouldn't want this to accidentally slip," he pressed it harder against my back and I gasped in pain, he laughed and continued, "you're going to do what I say."

My palms became sweaty and my eyelids drifted, my eyes rolled back into their sockets and I felt the ground disappear beneath my feet. The last thing I thought I saw was a streak of bronze colored hair.

…

I awoke in a strange hotel room, it was foreign to me. I was sure it was the Bellagio as I saw the familiar fountain outside the glass window, but I had no idea where I was. I tried to get up, but couldn't. I felt a breeze over my bare chest. I glanced down and my throat closed up; I was wearing nothing more than my black lacy panties and matching bra that Alice had insisted I wear.

I stopped breathing when I saw Jett emerge from the bathroom, wearing nothing more than his boxers.

He smiled villainously at me while he stalked towards the bed.

"Please," I choked. He shook his head.

"Don't worry Bella, you won't remember a thing after tonight," he laughed, "but you also won't feel anything when I'm done with you." He threw a glance at the sharp, silver blade on his bedside table.

He took advantage of my silence and pounced. He started feeling my breasts, kissing me aggressively and running his hands along my inner thighs towards my panties. As he was starting to take them off, I kicked him in the groin. He momentarily stopped kissing me and picked up the knife, coming towards me with it. He pressed it to my neck. "I was actually thinking about letting you live after I had sex with you but now, now you're just pissing me off." He pressed it into my skin and I gasped as I felt warm blood flow freely down my neck.

The pain was just too much.

_Kill me now, just kill me._

Just then, the door flew open. I couldn't see who it was, all I heard was "Get your fucking hands off of her!" and I realized then who it was.

Jett got off of me and walked over to him, standing in the doorway. He raised the knife when a small girl with short, spiky hair kneed him in his sensitive place.

I felt faint and I collapsed back onto the bed. "Bella! Bella! Oh my god, Emmett, she's not waking up!" I heard Rosalie crying uncontrollably as she shook my body. I yearned to sit up and comfort her, but I couldn't move. It was like my body was being weighed down. I couldn't feel any part of my body at all.

"Rose, he stabbed her! Quick, get something!" Alice screamed, her voice cracking as she took in my limp body.

"Alice get the police on the phone, I don't think Jasper can hold Jett much longer!"

"Give that son of a bitch to me! I'll beat him shitless!" I heard Emmett, he sounded angry and furious. I heard punching and then a body dropping to the floor.

"The police said that they're on their way!"

"Bella," his velvety voice said in my ear, his voice broke. "Please Bella, please, please don't die! Don't you dare die on me! I need you." I felt him embrace me and I tried to open my mouth to speak, but I couldn't. More than anything, I wished I could comfort him, to tell him that everything is alright.

"Bella, please, I'm so, so sorry." Edward said.

I smiled faintly and drifted further into unconsciousness.

**A.N: AHHHHH, EDWARD COMES TO VEGAS!!!! Lol, I don't know about you, but I for one am happy that I won't have to write about Bella hating Edward anymore!**

**Anyways, I haven't even started writing the next chapter yet, but I will do as soon as I post this. Thanks for reading, review and all that stuff.**

**By the way, the Bellagio is absolutely the BEST hotel in Vegas! I love it; never been in the penthouse suite before, but all the descriptions are from my own, personal experience. **

**Thanks again!**


	12. Awakenings and Explanations

**Disclaimer: I most certainly do not own Twilight…I'm not sure Stephenie Meyer would approve of me having her dear Bella almost raped and killed…**

**Hey guys! I know that it's been like 2 months since I last updated, but if I'm being honest, I went through a MAJOR period of writers block. I seriously could not think of ANYTHING to write, or how I wanted the story to play out. But, now I have the entire thing planned out! :)**

**So, please refrain from coming after me with pitchforks and flames 'cuz I haven't updated in forever, but, here is a brand-new chapter! Sorry for leaving you guys on that cliffy, I hate when authors do that.**

Chapter 12

"_Bella," his velvety voice said in my ear, his voice broke. "Please Bella, please, please don't die! Don't you dare die on me! I need you." I felt him embrace me and I tried to open my mouth to speak, but I couldn't. More than anything, I wished I could comfort him, to tell him that everything is alright._

"_Bella, please, I'm so, so sorry." Edward said._

_I smiled faintly and drifted further into unconsciousness. _

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"How long until you think she'll be awake?" I heard Alice ask frantically.

"I'm not sure sweetheart, she's lost quite a lot of blood," a new voice that I didn't recognize told her.

I heard the door open quietly, slowly, and I heard someone's footsteps as they walked closer to my bed. I felt somebody's hand lightly conform it to my cheek. I didn't know who it was; I didn't have the strength to open my eyes.

"Poor Bella," a beautiful, sing-song voice muttered; Rosalie. She started rubbing circles on my cheek as she sat down on the chair to my right.

It was quiet, extremely quiet. All I heard was the gentle breathing of the people in this room, the soft ticking of the clock on the wall, and once in a while a doctor being paged over the speaker system. It was strange because I didn't know what time it was, or what day it was, not to mention where the hell I was. I mean, I knew I was in a hospital, that much was obvious, but was I still in Vegas, or back in Seattle? Last night's or whenever nights, memories were a blur. The last thing I remembered was being loaded into an ambulance…

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"_Get her an ambulance! Quick! Alice, she's losing too much blood!" Edward yelled He sounded absolutely furious._

"_Edward please!" Alice was crying now, "I'm doing all that I can!"_

"_DO IT FASTER!" he yelled, nearly growling at her._

_She cowered back and answered the hotel room door._

"_Thank god you're here, please, my friend was nearly raped and, and…he, the rapist, stabbed her!" Rosalie frantically told the paramedics. They ran over to me and tried to take me out of Edwards's arms, but he held on even tighter._

"_Edward, let them take her," Jasper said, calmly._

_Edward chuckled humorlessly, "I don't think so, I'll take her down." He made a move to get off the bed. I was surprised by how easily he could carry me._

"_Son, we need to do our job. Please, let us handle this," the paramedic said sternly. Edward reluctantly transferred me to his arms and they put me onto a stretcher._

_They started strapping me in and that's when I completely regained consciousness. The first thing I felt was a thin liquid, trickling quickly down my neck. I was also aware of a sharp, stabbing pain where the blood was pulsing from. I suppressed the need to vomit, and tried to speak clearly._

"_Edward," I croaked. I opened my eyes slowly, not daring to look anywhere but at him. His gorgeous, frustrated, worried eyes snapped open and he flew to my side immediately._

"_Bella?" he asked uncertainly. He stroked my cheek, tears forming in his eyes._

"_Please, don't leave me." I felt hot tears rolling down my cheeks. He wiped them away and bent down towards me. He lightly kissed my forehead, lingering there longer than necessary. _

"_I won't."_

"_Promise me that you won't go," I whimpered softly. _

_The paramedics jabbed a needle in my arm – injecting me with morphine. It hurt, but not as much as my other injury. Hell, I welcomed it with open arms. _

"_I promise," he stated firmly._

_He shot back up and followed as they led me out the door and into the elevator. _

"_I'll see you soon Bella. I'll always be here for you."_

"_Thank-you," I smiled. My eyelids fluttered and I sank, once again, into unconsciousness. _

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"Hey!" I heard Emmett's voice first; I was sure that he and Jasper were together. "How's our girl doing?"

"She's doing better. We had to do some blood transfusions, and she'll be on painkillers for quite some time. Unfortunately, when she was stabbed, he cut a very sensitive vein so she'll be in a lot of pain for a few days, but, other than that she'll be fine." The voice said.

"That's great," Emmet said.

I heard a sigh of relief go around the room as Alice's phone started ringing.

'_**Cuz we are living, in a material world**_

_**And I am a material girl**_

I heard her exhale sharply and flip open her phone. She obviously didn't want to speak to whoever was calling her.

"Hello? No…the doctor says she'll be fine…no, she's not awake yet…you can come and see her if you want …alright, see you in a minute." Alice's fingers snapped the phone shut.

"Who was that?" Jasper asked.

"Edward. He wanted to know if she was alright. He said he wasn't sure if he should come see her, incase she's still mad at him," Alice softly murmured. At the sound of his name, my heart started hammering in my chest. Damn that boy and the affect he has on me.

I expected Rosalie to make some sarcastic, cutting remark about Edward and me. But she remained quiet.

"Wow, her heart rate just went up a lot!" Alice said nervously.

I heard Emmett exhale sharply, and then the noisy sound of the plastic chair as he sat down on the other side of my bed.

"_Paging " _the monotone voice came over the speaker system.

"Excuse me, I'll be back in an hour to check on her," the voice, I assume Dr. Williams, said, and exited my room.

Emmett chuckled humorlessly.

"I can't believe this…" he trailed off.

"I know Emmett, but as bad as the situation is right now, we just have to be glad that he didn't go any further," I heard Rosalie mutter.

"But how the hell can you get off putting a narcotic in somebody's drink?" Emmett sounded furious, "wasn't there anybody there that thought, 'hey, this guys drugging this poor girl's drink, maybe I should say something.' Stupid, fucking, ignorant asshole –"

"Emmett, you'd be surprised." Jasper told him, cutting him off. "Probably all the people in that bar were drunk and or high. I'm not sure that anybody would notice. It's Vegas after all," he laughed gravely.

"Let's just be glad that she's going to be alright. I called her mom as well as her dad, boy, did he sound pissed." Alice said. I froze. My parents? Oh crap. If I thought Emmett was murderous, imagine Charlie… I winced.

Alice came to stand beside my bed; I guess she studied my face and saw the sudden change in my expression because her tone instantly became suspicious. "Guys, you do know she's awake right?"

At that, a small giggle escaped my lips. My eyes flew open and Alice was beaming down at me.

"Bella! Bella! Bella, are you alright? I'm so, so sorry!" I heard everybody at once telling me these things. But nobody's voice mattered to me except his. Emmett ran over towards me and enveloped me in a huge, bear hug.

"Em…can't…breathe!" I struggled, gasping for air.

"Sorry," he muttered, pulling away. For the first time, I saw my surroundings. I looked around to see that I was in a private room, my bed near the window. The hospital room was high up, _very_ high up. I felt nauseous looking down at the busy street below. It was dark outside, extremely dark. I looked at the clock on the wall which told me that it was 9:45 pm. The bed was uncomfortable to say the very least. Wires and sensors were covering every inch of my body, and I felt extremely intoxicated. I glanced over at my arm; a tube had been stuck in just below my elbow, and a white, colorless kind of liquid was being fed through it. Morphine. The room was white and sterile. There was a small sitting area, with beige, leather couches. A plasma screen hung opposite my bed, which was now showing some sort of football game.

"W-What…how...how long have I been out for?" I struggled with my words. My voice sounded weak and hoarse and vulnerable; a perfect representation of how I felt.

Jasper was the one who answered. "About 2 days. We got pretty worried that you weren't waking up." He smiled at me and gave me a small hug.

My mouth involuntarily fell open. 2 days? Wow, what the hell had he done to me?

I stared up at the faces of the people I loved. Rose and Alice had tears in their eyes, Emmett and Jasper looked weak with relief. I felt a swell of gratitude towards my friends, 2 of them that I had only known for a week, but treated me like they had known me their entire lives. Everybody looked tired. Rose had the faintest of circles under her eyes, Alice's mascara streamed down her face. Emmett's hair was messy, and Jasper looked like he hadn't changed for days.

"How are you feeling?" Rose asked timidly, stroking my cheek again.

"Not too bad. Just some pain in my neck. I feel high actually." I said dreamily.

They all exchanged looks that ranged from worry – Rosalie and Alice – to pure amusement at my state – Emmett and Jasper.

"That's good. We were so worried about you. I haven't left you at all," Emmett said rather proudly. I looked up at him and felt tears in my eyes.

Rosalie got up and started rubbing Emmett's shoulders, kissing him on the lips before sitting in his lap. "Neither have I."

Jasper wrapped his arms around Alice's tiny waist, resting his head on her shoulder before kissing her neck. "Me three." Alice rolled her eyes and mouthed "me too."

I was so unbelievably happy to see my friends with their boyfriends. But, a tiny part felt deflated and hurt that I was the only one who didn't have somebody.

"Bella?" a soft, velvet smooth voice interrupted my thoughts. I propped myself up in my bed, cringing at the pain that shot through my arm when I did so, so I could see him. At first, all I saw was him, his perfect face and incomparable body; he looked like a male model. But then I squinted, and I saw that I was wrong.

He was standing in the doorway. His gorgeous green eyes looked tired, flat, and weak; they didn't sparkle like they usually did. He had dark shadows under his eyes, and a 5'oclock shadow. He was wearing sweatpants and a plain, cotton, white T-Shirt. His hair was the same striking bronze color, but it had lost some of its usual luster. His face looked sallow, and he looked even paler than usual. Actually, the word that came to mind was _sick_. He wore a grave expression as he walked slowly over to the right side of my bed. Edward sat down on my bed. All I could do was stare at him. If it was possible, he looked more beautiful this way, even if he did look sort of ill.

Without thinking, I flung my arms around his neck, ignoring the horrible pain, and buried my face into his shoulder. He stiffened, hesitant at first, and then tenderly wrapped his arms around my waist. I closed my eyes and enjoyed being there, in Edwards arms. I didn't care that I was supposed to be mad at him, and he obviously didn't care that I had ignored him for the past week. I pulled away when I felt a piercing pain in my left arm.

"Ow…sorry," I muttered.

He sat there, completely still. I was waiting for some sarcastic remark from Emmett, but it never came. I looked around the room and realized that we were alone.

I moved forward on the bed, being careful not to pull anything, and sat in front of him. I softly touched the shadow under his right eye, and started stroking back and forth.

"You look tired," I observed. He nodded and gazed at me. His brow was furrowed, his mouth pulled down into a small frown.

"You have no idea." He sounded so different. His voice still had same impact on my heart, but he really did sound sick.

"What's wrong?" I asked gingerly.

He hesitated, pinching the bridge of his nose with his finger and his thumb. I had seen him do this before, when he was frustrated. He exhaled sharply and then the words came rushing out. "Bella, I am so, so sorry. That doesn't even come close to it. I know I had no right to come to Vegas to find you, but I had to explain things Bella. And then when I saw _Jett_," he spat his name, "carrying you off towards the hotel, I didn't know what to think. I followed you guys, waiting to see what he was going to do. I had no idea that he was a rapist. I didn't see that you were passed out; I just thought that you were tired. And then when I heard you scream, I didn't know what to think. I called Emmett and Jasper and Rose and Alice, and I told them what I thought was happening. They managed to get a key to his room, and then I saw him and you…" he trailed off, his head was buried in his hands, and his fists were clenched.

He looked up at me. "I could kill him right now. I know that he's going to go to jail, but that's not enough, he deserves far worse."

"Edward…I…I am so, so sorry." He narrowed his eyes at me, and his angelic face became confused and angry.

"Sorry for what Bella? For being drugged? For almost being raped? How can you be sorry for that? It's not your fault!" He stood up and went to stand by the window, not looking at me.

"I meant I was sorry for making you worry so much…and for being such a cold-hearted bitch," I mumbled. He turned back towards me and sighed, his expression became softer. He walked over to me and sat at the foot of my bed.

"You have nothing to apologize for Bella, just forget it. It's not your fault, it was Jett's." He waved his hand and turned his attention back towards the window.

"Edward, I'm…I'm not talking about what happened last night, or two nights ago." He scooted closer to me, and a hint of a smile pulled up at the corner of his lips; but it didn't touch his eyes.

"Then what are you talking about?" He really had no idea.

"I am sorry for everything that happened between us. It wasn't fair for me to blow up at you like I did, and for me to ignore you, or have Rose yell at you like she did. I never gave you a chance to explain anything." His eyes widened in understanding. He shook his head.

"Bella, I deserved it, believe me-"

I cut him off by placing my hand over his perfect lips. "Edward, please, you didn't deserve any of the shit that I gave you. I should have listened to your explanation, if you have one or not…"

I looked down at my hands, playing with my fingers. I was surprised as I felt his finger pull my chin up so that our faces were on the same level.

"Do you want to hear it?" he asked. I nodded my head, but I wasn't completely sure that I wanted to hear what he was going to say.

He took a deep breath, and looked down into his hands as he started to speak.

"Bella. I'm going to be honest, and frank with you. Last Saturday, I was still 'dating'," he made air quotes around dating, "Tanya."

I felt a flare of resentment go through me as he confirmed my suspicions. His eyes grew wide as I clenched my fist, and he shook his head. "Bella, I didn't break up with her that day because…I was scared, I was a coward. I knew that if I broke up with her, then I wouldn't have a job. I was a coward because I didn't listen to you about her, and the whole situation. I chose a job, and financial security over you, and I am truly sorry. It's just so hard to get a job these days, what with the fucking economy in the hole…" he paused and ran his hand through his hair, messing it up even more. I waited patiently for him to begin speaking again. "I'm sorry." He looked up at me. Sure, it was all very nice of him to apologize _now_, but I wasn't going to give in that easily.

"Well?" he asked me.

"Well what?" I shot back, a little sharper than I intended. I saw him flinch at my harsh tone and I muttered "sorry."

"What do you think about me now? Now that you know the truth?"

I chose my words very carefully. "Edward, did you honestly expect that you'd say sorry, and everything would go back to normal? That we could be friends just like that?" I snapped my fingers to illustrate my point.

"No, I guess I didn't expect that…although a part of me was hoping…"

"I'm not mad anymore; I'm hurt more than anything. You lied to me, and embarrassed me, and hurt me more times than I thought possible…" I couldn't face him; I just looked down at the bed.

It was silent for the longest time; the only sounds I could hear were our quiet breathing, and the ticking of the clock on the wall. I could feel his eyes on my face, but I couldn't look at him.

"I'm sorry—for everything." I still couldn't say anything, all the previous feelings: the embarrassment, humiliation, anger, resentment, fury, longing and hurt, came back to me in a second.

"You must think I'm a dick." He laughed quietly, and I couldn't help a soft giggle from escaping my lips. I finally looked up at him, and he was smiling at me, but it didn't reach his eyes. I slowly reached my hand out to his, and started caressing it. He relaxed under my touch and I glanced up at him from under my eyelashes.

"Dick is not the word I'd use…" I smiled at him. He smiled genuinely this time, the smile crinkling his eyes. It made me happy.

"Then what is?" he asked teasingly.

"Hmm…" I thought about it, "more like ass I would think, dick is too mean."

"Then I am sorry for being such a complete and utter ass. I mean it." He gazed at me intently, his eyes slowly being restored to their full dazzling abilities. I looked away quickly, blushing of course. I rolled my eyes.

"But, I do have one more question…" I bit my lip, not sure if I wanted to hear the answer to this. "WhatwasTanyadoingatyourapartmentlastsaturday?" I blurted it out.

"I was afraid you'd ask that." He chuckled nervously and ran his hand through his hair. "I honestly have no idea. That may be hard for you to believe, but I'm telling the truth."

I wasn't buying it. I looked at him suspiciously, his eyes widened innocently and he smiled. "Scout's honor."

"Fine, I guess I believe you. I suppose it doesn't make sense for you to have your girlfriend in your apartment when you're on a date with another girl."

"So, am I forgiven?" he asked uncertainly.

I was hesitant. I didn't want him to think that things were alright between us, not just yet. I was still wounded from the date incident, and if we were going to be together, I was going to have to show him that I wasn't a spineless pushover. I shook my head and saw his face fall slightly.

"Edward, I'm not saying that I'll never forgive you, but I'm not sure if I can right now."

He became desperate and leaned closer to me, his face was inches away and I could feel the sweetness of his breath on my face. "Bella, please, tell me what I can do to show you how sorry I am." I became dazed and disoriented at his closeness. I caught my breath and leaned further away from him.

"I'm not sure that you _can_ do anything." I bit my lip, and looked at him, waiting for his reaction.

He leaned away and threw his hands up in the air. "Bella, I don't want you out of my life. Please, isn't there anything I can do? Maybe we could start over…"

"Edward, I don't want to start over, I just need time." And it was true. I just needed time to think about this.

He blinked several times, as if trying to comprehend what I had just said. Then he raised his eyebrows and a small smile spread across his perfect lips.

"Time? That's it?" He asked incredulously. I couldn't help but smile hugely at him.

"Yeah, that's it."

It was silent for a while until he spoke up.

"If you don't want me to be around you, I understand." He said softly, biting his lip.

"NO!" I yelled without thinking. His head snapped up and he grinned cockily at me. I blushed, "I mean, we could use this time to get to know each other better."

He hesitantly stroked my cheek. "I would love nothing more."

Our eyes locked and he gazed at me so intently that I was sure I would start hyperventilating…until Alice came dancing in the door.

"Hey Edward!" She chirped. I looked at her hands and saw that she was holding a giant bag of popcorn.

"Hey Alice." He got up and gave her a gentle hug before releasing her and coming to sit next to me.

"Bells, guess what?" She said excitedly, her eyes lighting up. I swear, I could be on the point of dying, in excruciating pain, and Alice could cheer me up like that.

"What?" I asked her.

"We're going to have a sleepover!" She started clapping her hands together and grinned at me.

"Um…Alice? I'm not so sure that the hospital will allow us to have a sleepover," I laughed.

"Silly Bella. I already asked Dr. Williams. He said that it was fine as long as we didn't disturb anyone." She ran over and whipped out her cell phone.

I noticed that the others were not trailing behind her. I turned to Alice and said, "Where is everyone else?"

She held up one finger, signaling me to be quiet, and started talking on the phone. "Jasper? Hey Baby…hold on, I'll ask her," she put her hand over the receiver and turned to me. "Bella, what do you like better, Swedish fish, or sour patch kids?"

"Swedish Fish," I said decisively.

"Hey Jazz? She says Swedish fish. Okay…see you in a bit, bye." She hung up and turned to face me once again. "What'd you want to ask?"

"Where's Rose, Em and Jasper?"

"They're at Jewel getting some things for our sleepover!" I could see her face light up at the word sleepover.

I smiled to myself and turned my attention to Edward who was looking at his phone.

"What is it?" I asked him.

He glanced up at me and his brow furrowed, before he completely wiped his expression off his face and smiled at me. "Nothing." But the way he said it, it sounded sort of strangled.

I waited for him to turn towards Alice when I swiped his phone away.

"Hey!" He objected, but I was too fast for him.

_Edward._

_Daddy says you're fired._

_But, maybe you could come over and I could convince him otherwise,_

_If you give me something in return._

_xoxo_

_Tanya_

I felt sick as I read this. I couldn't believe her. Did she actually think if he fucked her that he would get his job back?

Edward misread my expression and immediately started explaining. I held up one finger for him to be quiet. I looked back down to the screen and started writing.

When I was finished texting her back, I laid back on my hospital bed and stared at the ceiling until I heard Emmett's booming voice down the hall.

"Hey lady! The doctor said that we could have food and stuff!...It's fried chicken! No one's going to get sick, if you want, I'll disinfect the room when we're finished."

I laughed uncontrollably, ignoring the splitting pain in the side of my abdomen, at the thought of Emmett fighting a nurse about whether he could bring KFC into a hospital room.

He strolled into the room, a huge bucket of chicken wings under one arm, and 2-litre bottles of coke in the other. Rose came in behind him and gave me a huge smile, while Jasper waved at me, looking equally happy.

"Bella!" Emmett yelled happily, setting down the food and enveloping me in another huge, bone-crushing hug.

"It's good to see that you're feeling better Bella," Jasper said, with the faintest hint of a southern accent.

"Yeah, ditto." Rose grinned at me and brought 2 more chairs into the room, making a little semi-circle around my bed.

"Okay! Let's get this party started!" Alice started bouncing up and down on my bed while flipping through the On Demand channel on the T.V.

"What do you guys want to watch?" I asked everyone. Edward was the one who answered for them.

"I think you should choose Bella, after all, this is your sleepover." He smiled.

"Don't say that too loud or Alice will have your throat." We laughed together while the others turned their attention back to the T.V.

Alice started scrolling through all the movies. I kept shaking my head no, or whenever I would point out a chick flick, the guys would protest and suggest some gory, vampire movie.

"What is wrong with Bridget Jones' Diary?" Alice asked. She raised her eyebrows at Jasper questioning him.

" First of all, it's a chick flick. Second of all, there's no action whatsoever. And thirdly, there's not a single ounce of nudity!" Emmett exclaimed.

Rose smacked him on the back of his head and he immediately started apologizing. "I'm sorry!" he said in between smacks, "...the only person…I ever want to see naked is…Rose!" She blushed and stopped smacking him, then looked at the ground nervously. He smiled cockily and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Hey Em, I'm pretty sure in one scene, you can actually see Bridget with no pants on!" Alice told him, a huge, sweet smile plastered on her face.

He recoiled in disgust, "Alice, I'm not sure that I ever want to see Renee Zellweger with no pants on."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the remote from Alice, continuing to flip through the movies. I stopped on the perfect one.

"Ooooh guys!" I bounced on the bed from excitement, "how about 'What happens in Vegas'?"

The girls all agreed, and with some convincing, so did the guys.

Halfway into the movie, Edward wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me back against his chest. I should have moved away – I knew this was too soon for us – but I didn't. I liked the feeling of being in Edward's arms.

Towards the end of the movie, the new dose of morphine that the nurse had given me started to kick in. My eyelids began fluttering, and my vision became cloudy. I surrendered and let my head fall back to rest on Edwards chest. As I drifted off to sleep, I felt him lightly kiss my forehead and mutter, "Goodnight Bella."

**So, there you have it! Anyways this might be the last chapter for like 6 weeks, cause on Wednesday I'm going to London for the summer! And I don't have a computer there soooo…yeah, sorry. I just wanted to get this out to you guys. Who knows? Maybe if you guys are really good, then I'll post another chapter before Wednesday =]**


	13. Sexual Frustrations

Hey guys. I apologize in advance for any spelling/grammar mistakes. I'm currently in Prague (Czech Republic) right now on vacation, and my grandma has the WORST, most ANCIENT laptop ever created in mankind. There's a bunch of strange symbols and stuff on the keyboard and it's seriously screwing me up! Agh! Lol.

So, erm, yeah. I think I've lost some readers because of the massive two month gap between my last updates ): and I do look at the story traffic thingy and I see that this story is getting quite a lot of hits, however I only got 4 reviews for the last chapter ): reviews help me get things out faster and they also motivate me A LOT! So to all you readers out there who add this story to favorites and alerts and to people who review, let me say thank you, and of course to the anonymous readers. But I would like some more reviews if that's okay? God I feel so stupid begging for reviews like this.

This chapter takes place 2 days after the last chapter. Since then, Bella and Edward have been spending oodles of time together and have become a lot closer as to the point where they're starting to act like best friends. I just really didn't want to do an entire chapter about the hospital, lets just get on with Vegas!

Oh! And this is split into 2 parts. This will be the last one for a month as Thursday im leaving for London, and I have no computer there whatsoever. So, enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, that belongs to the fabulous Stephenie Meyer.**

BPOV

For the past 2 days, Edward had remained by my side constantly. He had slept in my room, brought me breakfast everyday from the cafeteria, and catered to my every need. To be honest, I was getting sick of all the attention, but he insisted that he do this for me. So, reluctantly, I agreed. When I wasn't sleeping, or knocked out from the painkillers, Edward and I would talk for hours on end, finding out little things about each other that helped us grow closer.

For example, I learned that his favorite color was black.

"Edward, whose favorite color is black?" I asked while giggling to myself.

"For your information, black is a very versatile color. It can go with any other color, pattern or print, and not look hideously wrong. Plus, it's a flattering shade on everyone." He smiled smugly at me while I stared at him, trying to contain the laughter that was building up inside of me. When I saw his mouth twitch, I lost it and started laughing uncontrollably. He joined in and we were soon doubled over in hysterics.

I wiped a tear from my eye as I said, "I think you've been spending a little too much time with Alice lately."

He smiled and held up his hands, still chuckling. "Hey, I gave you my honest answer."

It continued like this until the day I was released. We would laugh, joke, talk, and I was starting to feel much more comfortable about what happened. I still wasn't healed completely, but I was on my way.

----------o----------

"Bella, Bella wake up!" I felt tiny vibrations shake my bed as I groaned and threw a pillow over my head, trying to block out the noise.

"Alice! What do you want?" I moaned, still trying to get back to sleep.

She managed to pry the pillow out of my hands and toss it against the window before running over and yanking the curtains open. I saw that it was sunny outside, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue.

"We're going swimming today! And then we're going shopping because the boys are taking us out later and don't give me that look because you're not staying in the hotel room all day!" She giggled at my expression and skipped out of the room yelling, "5 minutes!"

Today was my first day back, and I couldn't be happier. I had been so ready to leave yesterday that I actually ran from the hospital and flung myself into Edwards's arms. But who could blame me? Sick people, disgusting food and needles don't exactly scream "Luxury" to me. I was feeling heaps better. I had a scar on my neck from the incident, but other than that, it was fine. The wound only hurt when I touched it.

I jumped up from my bed with a smile on my face. "Alice," I yelled as I came out of the room, "I haven't got a swimsuit! I didn't pack one!" I smiled triumphantly as I finished, but that smile quickly turned to fear as I saw the wicked look on her face.

She raised her eyebrows at me. "Oh, I figured you'd do something like that, so I packed you one."

I groaned internally because I knew that whatever "swimsuit" (I used the term loosely) Alice had packed for me would most likely look like something a stripper would wear.

She saw the look on her face and laughed again. "And don't think that saying it doesn't fit, or that its ugly will get you out of wearing it because you can go down in your bra and panties for all I care." Her eyes dead serious.

I gulped and nodded, mortified at the idea of wearing my lacey dark blue bra down to the pool. She smiled brilliantly at me and said, "I laid it out for you on your bathroom counter, hurry up!" And with that, she ran into her bathroom and slammed the door.

I sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing with Alice, and trudged into my en suite bathroom.

I was completely shocked at what she had picked out for me. I was sure my face was bright red now, and livid with anger. There, lying on the counter was the smallest, skimpiest bikini (if you could call it that) I had ever seen. It was no doubt the same color as my cheeks, and looked as if it would barely cover my…you know what's.

I snatched up the bikini and stormed out of my bathroom to see Alice trying on a beautiful, perfectly modest, one piece white suit. She smiled to herself and spun around to face me, an angelic grin on her face.

Her eyes widened in mock surprise as her brow furrowed. "You don't like it?" She asked with too much innocence in her voice.

I exhaled sharply. "Alice, honestly, how the hell do you expect me to wear this…this…piece of fabric!" She giggled at my outburst.

"First of all Bella it's called a bi-ki-ni," she sounded out the word slowly like she was talking to a toddler, "and I expect you to wear it because you have a great body and it will look hot on you!" I blushed when she said I had a great body and she smirked at me.

"I don't have the body for something like this Al, maybe you or Rosalie could pull it off but not me." I hung my head low and then something registered. I snapped my head up and said, "By the way, where is Rosalie?"

Alice looked away and muttered, so quietly it almost wasn't audible, "She spent the night with Emmett."

I ran and flopped myself on her bed, covering my ears. "Ewwww! God poor Edward and Jasper. Their poor, unsuspecting ears!" I knew first hand how loud Rosalie could be. Every time she brought home a man, Alice and me would spend the night at our friend Angela's house just to escape the noise.

Alice erupted into a fit of laughter and hit me over the head with a pillow. "Not like that your perv! She was pretty hammered last night, so Emmett took her back to his room. He called and said that Rose was already passed out and snoring on his couch. Get your mind out of the gutter!"

I blushed and sat up, Alice sitting down to my right. She leaned on my shoulder, accidentally brushing up against my scar. I winced at the pain and she sat up quickly. "Sorry, I didn't realize it still hurt."

"It's okay…Alice, I'll wear the damn bikini, but I get something in return alright?"

Her eyes lit up and she nodded excitedly. "What do you want?"

I grinned at her and told her, "When we go shopping today, you can't buy me anything that goes higher than here," I held my hand just below my knee, "or lower than here." I held my other hand across the top of my boobs.

She hugged me and said, "Fine. The boys were taking us to a fancy place anyways, I'll buy you some clubbing clothes tomorrow." She hopped up and headed towards the kitchen.

My eyes widened in fear. "Nu-huh, you said –"

"You said I couldn't pick anything like that for _today's_ shopping trip," she finished proudly, emphasizing the word today. I mentally kicked my self for saying that.

"Fine," I grumbled, walking back into my bathroom to change into the bikini.

When I had it on, I accidentally caught sight of myself in the mirror and gasped. The bikini fit me perfectly. It gave me curves where I didn't think I had any, and while it was still on the more revealing side, it wasn't too sluttish. I whipped my hair up into a quick ponytail and bounded out of the room to find Alice by the door, sporting some huge sunglasses.

She took them off and did a double take. "Bella you look hot!" I blushed again and grabbed my white cover-up, thankful that at least that covered everything.

"Thanks," I muttered self-consciously.

As soon as we stepped out of the elevator we were greeted by Emmett and Jasper. Alice gave Jasper a quick peck on the lips as he wrapped his arm around her slender waist. Emmett didn't give me a huge, bone-crushing bear hug like he usually did, and I was glad for that.

When we finished saying our hellos, I noticed that Rosalie and Edward were not here with us. My stomach clenched and I became nervous until Emmett explained to me that he was at the pool saving chairs.

"Hahaha, um Rose is kind of…" he trailed off as I turned to Jasper to finish the sentence. "Completely and utterly wasted." He chuckled quietly.

Emmett immediately became defensive. "She just had some really strong tequila last night and isn't coming down today…at least, I told her not to." He raised his head towards the elevators where a very disheveled and obviously hung over Rosalie was struggling with a beach ball and towel.

Emmett rushed forward and caught her as she was about to fall. I couldn't help the small giggle that escaped my lips, and she shot daggers at me. I stopped and turned to Alice, trying to make small talk.

"Oh, you think this is funny Swan? Me stumbling around, tripping on air like you usually do? Oh god Emmett," she cried, gripping his arm as he pulled her back up, "I'm turning into Bella! Next thing you know I'll be blushing like crazy and shopping at the Gap and…oops, sorry Bella, didn't mean to offend you. You know how I get when I have a massive hang over." I shrugged it off as no big deal, though on the inside I was trying to stifle the fit of laughter that was threatening to come out.

She was wearing a hot pink bikini and pink heels. I mentally rolled my eyes; only Rose would wear stilettos down to the pool. But, her eyes were also bloodshot and she was swaying from side to side, catching herself on the couch when she was about to go down.

As usual, Emmett said the first thing that came to his mind. "Rosie, baby, you look like shit." Everyone laughed except Rosalie who glared at him. "Oh, thank you for pointing that out Em, I sure as hell hadn't noticed."

Jasper leaned in closer to Emmett and started patting his head like a little child. Alice and me were close to passing out with unused laughter. "Emmett, not really the best way to greet your girlfriend." Emmett looked so deep in thought as he nodded and muttered "thanks" that Alice and I lost it as we doubled over with laughter.

Rosalie huffed and stomped out the door, Emmett trailing behind her, yelling apologies while every single mans eyes were ogling Rose. Jasper linked arms with Alice and I as we slowly walked outside.

I looked around and gasped. It looked like we had just stepped into the Mediterranean. Chairs surrounded the mosaic-bottomed swimming pool, while urns on pedestals lined it. In the middle of the swimming pool, there as a beautiful fountain spewing out crystal clear water, and on the opposite end was a diving board, to which my attention was now diverted as I heard, "Hey Rosie, watch this! CANNONBALL!"

Emmett had just flung himself off the board, and Rose was now cussing at him for getting her wet.

"Emmett, that wasn't a very nice thing to do," I heard him yell while laughing. My breathing hitched as I looked to the source of Edwards beautiful voice, and I think I may have fainted right there if Jasper wasn't still supporting me.

The water came up to his waist, and I could just make out the delicious V shape his hips made. I looked further up and stated hyperventilating when I saw his toned six-pack abs. His muscles flexed as he laughed and I saw a breathtaking smile break across his seraphic face. His hair was darker now that it was wet, and a piece of it hung lazily over his right eye. I had to stop myself from attacking him right there in the middle of the pool and- whoa! Where did that come from?

"Bella, Bella? Earth to Ms. Swan," I heard Alice say. She was waving her hand in front of my face.

"Do you…do you…see him?" I squeaked.

Alice furrowed her brows together and followed my line of vision before she giggled and rolled her eyes. "Honestly Bella, you'd think you've never seen a man half-naked before!" She tsked and took my hand, leading me back towards the hotel.

"What are you doing?" I hissed, desperately wanting to get back to Edward.

"I'll be back in a mo, tell Rose to meet me and Bella in our room, NOW!" She yelled to Jasper while blowing him a kiss. He nodded and ran down the stairs.

I repeated the question and she turned to me, speaking the words that make my spine stiffen and my palms sweat every time I hear them. "We're going to give you a makeover," she announced shortly, before turning around and walking briskly out of the elevator.

I caught up with her. "What's the point of giving me a makeover if I'm just going to go swim anyways?" I demanded, thoroughly confused by her logic.

She huffed and spun around to face me. "You just nearly fainted seeing Edward standing there half-naked, so now we're going to make sure you have the same affect on him."

I groaned and followed her into the hotel room where she was taking out her curling irons and make-up and nail polish.

I reluctantly sat at the vanity mirror and waited for it to begin. When I felt tugging on my hair from two curling irons, I assumed Rose had joined us.

"So, remind me again, what is the point of this?" I asked.

Rosalie answered. "We want to make sure that Edward is as affected by you as you are by him. Thus, making you hotter than usual, we will see if this theory is correct," she stated matter-of-factly.

I stifled my laughter at her tone and kept my mouth shut throughout the torture.

"So Bella, I have a question, close," Alice said while applying eye shadow.

"Shoot."

"What's the deal with you and Edward?" she asked. I stiffened; I wasn't expecting that question. I knew that they would ask me about it sooner or later.

"Wha…what do you mean?" I got out.

I saw Alice and Rose exchange a look in the mirror with grins on their faces. "What are you guys now?"

"We're friends, right now…" I muttered, immediately regretting the last part as Alice caught on.

"Why? Do you want to be more than friends?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead, I blushed, furiously.

Rose patted my shoulder sympathetically. "It's alright, I see the way you look at each other, you can't deny destiny."

"I bet I can…" I mumbled.

They laughed. "Okay, put it this way. You can't bet against Alice," Rose giggled.

I smiled, knowing it would be a cold day in hell before I ever bet against Alice.

When the makeover was finished, I heard Rosalie and Alice fake crying. I opened my eyes to see them blocking the mirror. "Do I really look that hideous?" I joked.

They shook their heads. "Can I see?" I asked impatiently. They shook their heads again and grinned, throwing me a red cover-up that matched my newly painted nails and bikini.

It was a robe that looked like it was made of silk; I slipped it on and groaned when I saw it came to mid thigh.

"Jeez, are you guys trying to make me look like a stripper?" I laughed.

They joined me and we linked arms as we headed out the door. I didn't even bother looking at myself; I knew it would be better if I were oblivious.

Although, I couldn't miss the men's eyes staring at me as I walked down the hall. I shifted uncomfortably, not used to all the attention. To be honest, I was a little creeped out.

As Alice put her tiny hands on the door handles leading to the pool, I took a deep breath, readying myself. Al and Rose had coached me on this; I was supposed to look sexy; and try not to fall and break my leg in these heels I was wearing.

I bit my lip, "Do you think I'm ready?" I asked doubtfully.

Rose smiled and nodded. Alice opened the door; I put my oversized Chanel sunglasses on and stepped out into the bright sunlight.

EPOV

"Did you see her face?" Emmett was chuckling over by Jasper. I waded over to them and told him, "Rosalie looked pretty pissed Em, you really shouldn't do that."

He laughed again and turned to me. "I wasn't talking about Rose, she'll be fine."

I was confused. "Then who do you mean?"

He smirked, "Bella."

Her name sent a pleasurable shiver through my body; she had that affect on me lately, and I found my face involuntarily breaking into a huge grin. But then I was confused again.

"What about Bella?"

"She looked so flustered when she saw you. Her mouth was wide open and she was sort of ogling you while licking her lips," Emmett laughed and Jasper joined in.

"Yeah, Al had to snap her out of it," Jasper chuckled.

Again, my face broke out into another involuntary smirk. I probably looked cocky, standing there hearing about how Bella looked when she caught sight of me. I hadn't seen her though.

"Do you know where they went? Em, Jazz, what are you…staring…at…holy shit," I finished pathetically. That was an understatement.

Bella was waltzing down the marble staircase, wearing the sexiest bikini had ever seen. It was blood red and made her look like the angels hotter, darker sister. Her hair was in loose curls around her head that bounced as she walked. She swayed her hips side to side with a gracious, innocent smile on her face. The cover-up she was wearing flowed behind her as she floated down the stairs. Her lips were red to match the color of her…stilettos? I could see every male eye mentally undressing her, and I could also feel my trunks start to feel a little tight.

I looked over at Emmett and Jasper and was furious to see that they were in the same position as myself.

"What the hell?" I spit at them.

Jasper looked away shamefully as Emmett held up his hands in an I'm-just-a-guy kind of way.

I covered my area with my hands and scooted closer to Emmett. "Why is she wearing _that_?" I demanded.

"I don't know…but she sure looks hot in it though…ow, what was that for?" he whispered as I smacked him on the arm.

"For thinking that way about Bella," I hissed.

I saw my angel come towards the edge of the pool and beckon me forward with her finger. I scooted towards her and she got on all fours, unconsciously pressing her boobs together. I gulped and tried to avert my gaze, fully aware of my growing problem. I just hoped that she wasn't as aware.

"Edward," she purred seductively. I swallowed hard and squeaked out, "Yes?"

She shocked me by stroking my face and looking into my eyes while grinning wickedly and saying, "You might want to take care of that little problem of yours." With that she strutted away, laughing, but I could see the delicious blush creeping over her neck and face.

Jasper slapped me on the back and said, "You got it bad bro." Then chucking, he got out of the pool and gave Alice a chaste kiss on the lips.

If that's the way she wants it…I smiled deviously to myself.

BPOV

"You might want to take care of that little problem of yours," I laughed, blushed and walked back to Alice. _There's nothing little about that problem, _I thought to myself.

"How'd it go?" Rosalie asked with a wicked glint in her eye.

"An erection," I stated simply, sipping on a margarita.

Rose spit out her drink and Alice's eyes widened. They burst into laughter and I joined in.

"Wow, we sure didn't expect that Bells," Alice chuckled.

"Now we know that you have the same affect on each other," Rose put in.

I nodded and went back to drinking my margarita.

I saw Jasper give Alice a quick kiss, and then I felt two wet arms wrap around my waist.

I decided to do Rose and Al proud. "So, I see your little problems all taken care of there Eddie," I said, playfully poking him in the arm.

"That was not a very nice thing to do Ms. Swan," he whispered in my ear. I shivered and he chuckled in my ear. He swept me up in his arms and carried me over to the pool.

"Edward…wha…what are you doing?" I stuttered breathlessly. His nose skimmed up and down my ear, sending shivers throughout my body.

"Hmmm?" The vibrations made me roll my eyes back in my head and relax into his touch.

"Edward, you're all wet," I grabbed onto the most random thing I could say.

"Oh Bella, do you have any idea how wet I could make you?" He whispered seductively. My entire body stiffened, and I could feel my heart rate increase. I was about to come up with some witty remark when I gasped as he threw me into the pool.

I plunged into the cold water, still in my shoes and cover-up on. The freezing water enveloped me and I let out a useless scream underwater. The cold engulfed me and I was thanking Alice for using waterproof.

I trudged out with a murderous expression on my face. I was sure I looked like a drenched cat.

Edward was completely emotionless, but I could see the corner of his mouth threatening to turn up into a smile. When I reached him, he broke out into laugher.

"I hate you," I spit.

"No you don't," he said with a cocky grin before turning around and heading back to the gang who were in hysterics.

I sat down with a humph and crossed my legs, taking off the heels and cover-up.

I glared at him. He was looking at me with a shit eating, crooked smile on his face that made me want to slap it right off, or do some very inappropriate things to him – WHAT?! Since when did I think like this? Granted, it had been a long time, and I had spent the last few days around a completely gorgeous man, but still.

We sat there, sipping our drinks until Emmett spoke up. "Hey, how about we go play water volleyball?"

We all agreed and headed back into the water. Edward caught up with me and murmured, "I'm very sorry Bella, can you forgive me?"

I sighed and nodded, knowing that I sort of deserved it after putting him through getting a boner in the middle of a public pool.

He kissed the top of my head and told me, "Thank-you."

I saw that there was already one couple on the court; they were on each other's shoulders?

"Alright Rosie, up on my shoulders," Emmett told her, squatting in the water. Rose gave him a funny look.

"That's how you play," Jasper said slowly, pointing to the other couple, while hoisting a very scared Alice onto his shoulders. I saw her lose her balance and grip his hair, fisting it and nearly pulling it out.

Her hands flew to her mouth as she regained her balance. "Sorry Jazzy!" She bent down and kissed the top of his head. He smiled and met her for a kiss.

Em started making kissing noises and Rose hit him on the back of his head. Edward and me laughed as Rose struggled to get on Emmett's massive shoulders.

When the girls were on their respective partners shoulders, I realized Edward was waiting for me to get on his.

He cocked a perfect eyebrow at me. "Don't worry, I won't let you fall off."

I blushed as I climbed on, feeling his hard muscles flex as he adjusted to my weight. As soon as I had got on, we split into teams. Rose, Em, Me and Edward on one team, and Alice, Jasper, and the other couple – Kate and Garrett – on the other team.

"You serve first!" Kate yelled, tossing Emmett the ball.

He set up for the serve and fisted it over the net, hard, causing us to gain a point. We started cheering wildly while Alice started screaming at Jasper, "Why didn't you get that Jazzy?!"

"Did we mention Al gets a little competitive?" Rose said sweetly to the other team.

"HA! SUCK IT!" Emmett yelled, pumping his fist in the air.

"Oh, and so does Emmett," Jasper replied in that same tone. Rosalie shot him glares and he stuck his tongue out at her.

I laughed and the game continued.

"EDWARD! Just 'cuz Bella's on your shoulders doesn't mean you can't spike the fucking ball!" Emmett screamed at him. I held on tighter as Edward reflexively stepped back from him.

"Next time you yell at someone like that, we're through Emmett!" Rosalie told him, winking at me. He apologized and turned back to the net, leaving Edward chuckling quietly under his breath.

It was about half way through the game when I noticed Edward start to shift under me.

EPOV

I couldn't believe this. Of all the places to get an erection, it had to be in a pool. And it was the second time today!

But its not like I could help it. Bella was freaking on my shoulders, her legs wrapped securely around my head, squirming and wiggling the entire time. Plus, my head was directly between her legs. If I even turned around I would be face to face with…

I heard Emmett snicker. I shot him a look and he whispered to Rosalie, who lent down so she could hear. She smiled and threw I quick look in my direction, glancing a little south of my waist. She joined Emmett and they laughed together. I blushed and tried to shift so my legs would cover my now growing erection.

"Ha ha, I don't think that'll cover it Eddie," Rosalie giggled, a permanent grin fixed on her face.

I felt Bella squirm again and I had to keep in the moan that was threatening to come out. "What's so funny?" she asked questioningly.

Emmett didn't hesitate, he just plainly stated, "Bella is giving Edward and erection."

I blushed even more profusely as I heard everyone else's laughter, except Bella. I could practically feel the heat radiating from her cheeks. I guess she lost balance because all I heard was a blood curdling scream, and a firm tug on my hair before I registered the fact she had fallen off my shoulders.

She stood up, everyone still laughing. Her eyes locked with mine and I could see a hint of amusement in her chocolate brown eyes. Then of course she practically turned red and was about to say something when Rosalie interrupted her. "How about we break for lunch, I think Edward has another problem he needs to take care of," she added with a sly smirk in my direction, I looked away as she continued, "we'll meet back down here in an hour." She grabbed Bella's hand and headed up towards the hotel with Alice in tow.

I stood there, willing myself to look away from Bella as she swayed her hips back and forth…Ahh! What was wrong with me? Since when did I have a perverted mind?

"Come on, go take care of Little Eddie, we'll be up in our room," Emmett chuckled before jogging up to where Jasper was collecting the towels.

He was right. I needed to take care of this problem, now. I couldn't masturbate in the middle of the pool, especially with little children swimming around. Up in the room? No, Em and Jasper would be up there, and I really didn't need Emmett knocking on the door and freaking me out by telling me that, "Bella's here."

I was just about to give up and run to the bathrooms when I caught sight of 3 slutty, platinum blonde girls eyeing me from the bar and winking, making kissing faces.

Well, I no longer need to take care of my problem.

BPOV

"Omigod, did you see his face? That was priceless, he was blushing just like you Bells!" Alice squealed while laughing.

"Believe me, I saw more than that…" I laughed nervously. I was still blushing like crazy at what had just happened.

"That's 2 boners within a span of an hour, we are too good," Rosalie said to Alice, wiping a fake tear away and grinning at me.

"Like I did nothing? I never put myself out like that! It was so uncomfortable, I'm pretty sure that Edward, and every other person at the pool, thinks I'm a total whore now…" I put my face between my hands and sighed.

Rose pushed away my hands and forced me to look at her, "No, I'm pretty sure that every single man is probably jerking himself off to the thought of you, including Edward."

I shook my head, "He doesn't think of me that way."

Alice spun around to face me, throwing her hands up in the air. "Are you freakin blind? He just made a sexual insinuation to you, and he got 2 boners from the sight of you and from you being on his head. Lord knows what he was thinking."

I laughed nervously. "Let's just get ready for lunch, I'm starving." We agreed and headed back into the elevators.

There was a middle-aged man with a briefcase in the elevator. I didn't miss how the man's eyes scanned Rosalie's body shamelessly. She caught him and raised her eyebrow and winked, grinning seductively at him. "Take a picture. Then you can use it later when no ones around."

He was completely flabbergasted. I nearly had a heart attack as he started to reach into his briefcase. Rose shot him death glares and he shrunk back, cowering into the corner and keeping his eyes fixed ahead.

I took a moment to reflect on the morning's happenings. I still couldn't believe that _I, _Isabella Swan, klutz extraordinaire, had left Edward Masen, sex-god, completely speechless.

"Bella! Honestly, she's always zoning out like this!" Alice snapped her fingers in front of my face and I came out of my thinking, blinking my eyes and stepping into the hallway in a daze.

As we walked, I remembered something. "Guys, when are we going shopping?"

They spun around to face me, smiles on their faces. Rose looked incredulous, "Does our Bella actually _want_ to go shopping?"

Alice ran to me and laid her tiny hand against my forehead. "Are you sick? She doesn't have a temperature Rose. I'm worried. This isn't normal Bella-like behavior!"

I laughed and placed her hand back by her side. "I just wanted to get some new things. And, the sooner we get going, the sooner it's over with."

"I knew it," Alice muttered. I took out my key-card and unlocked the door, gasping like I did every time I saw our suite.

"Right Rosalie," Alice placed her hand on her hip and started tapping her chin with her finger. "What are we going to put Bella in?"

My eyes grew wide and I groaned. They laughed. "I don't think it would be very nice to give Eddie number 3 while we're out to lunch," Rose's brow furrowed, deep in thought.

I started to shift uncomfortably while they looked me up and down, contemplating what to dress me in. Suddenly, Alice's finger went up in the air, "Eureka! I forgot I bought something for you before we left. Hold on, I'll be back in a mo." She rushed off into her room as I walked over to the sofa and turned on the TV, watching an old episode of Friends.

I could hear her flinging clothes out onto the bed and floor. "Rosalie! Come help me look!" She sang.

Rose rushed off into Alice's room and I heard Alice grumbling, asking herself where she put the god-blessed thing.

About 2 minutes later, she came out of the bedroom, beaming, and carrying one of the most gorgeous sundress I had ever seen.

It was knee-length with an extravagant, multi-colored pattern. It had a fitted bodice that flared out past the hips. It was strapless too, and I found myself practically itching to put it on…until I noticed the killer black heels they were planning to put me in.

Alice saw me eyeing the heels and laughed. "Bella, their really comfortable, trust me. I got them with you in mind."

I snapped my head up at her. "How much did all this cost?" I questioned with a slight frown; Alice had money and she was not afraid to flaunt that fact.

Her face fell, "It doesn't matter. You like it, don't you?"

I nodded, looking down.

"Then that's my problem, go put this on in the bathroom, then come back out so me and Rose can do your hair." I nodded again and grabbed the dress before dashing into my bathroom.

"Don't forget this!" Alice yelled before tossing me a strapless, black, pushup bra and matching panties. I blushed, of course, and put it on.

When I was dressed, I reluctantly walked out. Their faces lit up and they started clapping their hands wildly, huge grins stretched from ear to ear. I couldn't help but smile myself; it did look pretty nice on me.

I sat down in the vanity chair while Alice and Rose started to dry my hair, all the while talking amongst themselves, deciding what to do with me.

"I think we should put her hair in a half-up do sort of thing, then wave the bottom of it," Rose suggested. Alice nodded, plugging in the curling iron while gathering my hair into a ponytail. She let pieces fall out, then secured it with a hair band and started to curl the bottom half very loosely.

"Could you do my makeup kinda natural, since you made me look like a skank earlier," I asked.

They nodded and Rose took out some brown eye shadow, commanding me to close my eyes. I did so and they went to work.

It was a full 40 minutes before Alice finished picking the right gloss for me and I was allowed to see myself. I looked in the mirror and was speechless. This was a complete 180 degree turn from this morning.

My hair fell loosely over my shoulders, giving it that beachey look that only few could perfectly pull off. My eyes were painted with a brown-bronze color and a thin line of black eyeliner. I didn't have any blush on, knowing I could fully cover that department, and my skin seemed to glow in the light. Last but not least, Alice had given me a pale, nude pink gloss that seemed to go perfectly with everything else. I could just about cry.

"Wow Bella, I actually think you look better now than you did this morning," Rose told me, rubbing my shoulders affectionately.

I raised my hand and pointed at the woman in the mirror. "Is that really me?" I squeaked out.

Alice nodded, but I could see that laughter she was trying to keep in at my revelation.

I couldn't believe it. All my life, I truly had never been beautiful. I didn't think I was pretty, and to be honest, I was extremely surprised when Edward took a notice in me. Honestly, I didn't want to sound cocky or anything, but I looked pretty beautiful.

"Oh Bells, you look gorgeous." Rose gave me a small hug while we stared at myself in the mirror.

Alice looked at her watch, "Shit, it's been an hour already. Come on you lot. Here Bella, I'll give you a compact mirror so you can look at yourself in the elevator." I blushed and followed her out the door.

My breath caught as I saw Edward, sitting in a chair in all his god-like glory. "Breathe Bella, Breathe," Alice joked, giving my arm a playful shove.

He was wearing a white, button down shirt that had the top 3 buttons undone, exposing part of his chiseled chest. He was wearing tan Bermuda shorts and flip-flops. His hair was still wet, and he had a lazy smile spread over his face as he was talking to Jasper. If it was possible, he looked even better _with_ clothes on. Rose nudged me and we descended the stairs together, linking arms.

I heard Rose clear her throat loudly as we approached the table. Emmett snapped his head to look at Rosalie; I was sure he was mentally undressing her as she was wearing short-shorts and a tube top. Jasper gave Alice a romantic kiss on the lips. And I was left standing there while the other couples kissed and greeted each other. I gasped when I felt two arms wrap around my waist and a velvet smooth voice whisper in my ear, "You look absolutely beautiful Bella."

I started breathing heavier, until Edward caught my attention. I saw that the other pairs were already seated at the table. Edward rested his hand on my hip and I swear I nearly melted at his next words. "Would you like to come with me?"

I blinked and stared at him. "What?" I squeaked.

He looked confused. "To lunch?" He annunciated slowly.

I blushed and nodded, feeling like an idiot. We walked to the table and I swore I could see Edward smirking.

I sat down next tom Rose. She looked at me, the Edward and rolled her eyes. He sat down to my right and casually put his arm around the back of my chair, squeezing my shoulder.

He leaned over and muttered in my ear. "What did you think I meant earlier?" He started skimming his nose up and down my ear, his cool breath sending shivers through my body.

Alice must have seen the situation I was in. "How about we go up to the buffet and get something to eat now, yeah?" she blurted out. I mouthed "Thank-you" to her and she casually shook her head.

I skipped over to the Italian section of the buffet and started loading spaghetti onto my plate. I nearly dropped my food as Edward came up from behind and entwined both his arms around my waist, laying his chin on my shoulder.

_Mmm…this is nice. _

"That looks pretty disgusting Bella," Edward wrinkled his nose in disgust and I laughed.

I picked up a fork, twirled some pieces of spaghetti around it and spun around; shoving it into his beautiful, open mouth. His mouth remained open and I pushed the bottom of his chin up. "It's not nice to eat with your mouth open." He chewed slowly and a look of distaste came across his face. I only laughed harder and walked back to the table, Edward still hanging on my back.

As soon as we had finished lunch, I asked Edward to walk outside with me. I was going to do this. No chickening out now Bella. Be strong.

We walked out together, the breeze blowing in our faces. He turned to me with an expectant look on his face. "Is there something that you wanted to tell me Bella?"

I took a deep breath. "Edward, I can't go on like this. I think I—"

"Come on! Guys, lets go shopping!" Alice squealed. Her eyes widening as she took in our position. She quickly ducked out, muttering apologies.

"That's the third bloody time now," I muttered. Edward chuckled and laced his fingers through mine. "Later."

So, I purposely left off there, having Alice interrupt them. Don't worry if it seems like they're moving too fast. It was sort of a joking nature. Hell, I do it to my friends all the time. Lol. Next chapter is the date and ill reveal what Bella was about to say then. Bear with me; I'm not giving up on this story. Just don't expect another chapter for about a month or so. Thanks for reading!


	14. The Name of the Game

**Hey Guys! **

**Sorry for the Authors note disguised as chapter; I hate those things.**

**Here's the sitiation with the city diaries; I'm not writing it anymore. I've lost my passion for it and I'm really have no idea where I want to take this story. Maybe when I've recovered from writers block will I attempt to rewrite it, but with a new plot and stuff. It wasn't that good and to be honest, didn't get a huge over-whelming response lol.**

**But do not fear, I have another story I just uploaded out. Its called The Name of the Game.**

**Here's the full summary.**

_**One night stands always come back to bite you on the ass. Edward Cullen. He's a gorgeous, rich, arrogant prick with a stick up his ass. Of course, you don't find these things out until after you've slept with them. Bella hates him, and he hates her…at least, that's what Bella thinks. When the head honcho of Bella's company – who evidently turns out to be Edward – turns up to pay a visit to the company's main office, interesting things might happen…if they don't rip each other's throats out first. And what about Mark Jones? The new head of Bella's department who takes an instant liking to Ms. Swan. AH. OOC.**_

**Lol. I'm having a huge amount of fun writing this right now, and I'm going to try and update it once evry week. But, I did just start senior year in High School, so I'm getting college applications filled out and sent out, exams and stuff, and it's going to be a hell of a year. But don't desert the story, I have high hopes for it :)**

**Sorry again guys. Please, please check out my story. And review and all that good stuff.**

**Yours truly,**

**Rachel**

**x**


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